One method used by the industry for the deposition of thin carbon films is the dc cathodic arcion plating process. The evaporation of a graphite cathode by a high energy arc beam results in the production of carbon atoms, ions and macroscopic graphitic fragments. All these particles influence the film growth, the structure and therefore the film properties. The incorporation of the macroscopic graphitic fragments can be avoided by the use of mechanical or magnetic filters in front of the cathode. These filters prevent the direct bombardment of the substrates with particles. This particle separation involves decreased substrate current densities and this means lower deposition temperature (< 200°C) and growth rates. With the addition of inert (argon) and reactive gases (nitrogen and methane) and the use of a bias voltage on the substrate economical deposition rates of 2-4 μm/h and good adhesion on various materials can be reached.

This paper describes the production of amorphous hydrogen and hydrogen-free carbon films by a modified cathodic arc evaporation process using a simple mechanical filter for particle reduction. It shows the influence of some process parameters on the optimization of the process stability and process efficiency. Some characteristic properties of these coatings are shown by an example.