Simran¹, Peter van Nooten², Jacek Wojcik², Marek Niewczas^1
1McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
²Intlvac Thin Films Inc., Georgetown, Ontario, Canada
Diamond-like carbon (DLC) is an amorphous form of carbon that contains varying compositions of diamond (sp³) and graphite (sp²) bonds. The variation of the hydrogen content permits to tuning properties of DLC materials, including hardness, wear resistance, and optical properties. In recent years, chalcogenide glasses have emerged as promising substrates for DLC deposition due to their cost-effective and easily producible properties. However, a well-known challenge of the adhesion between the DLC and chalcogenide glasses persists. This project aims to improve adhesion by investigating the interface of DLC films deposited onto chalcogenide glasses. The DLC is deposited using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). The DLC coating increases hardness and develops a protective shield against abrasion and wear of the glasses. This augmentation of mechanical strength and their transmission capabilities in the infrared (IR) region expands the potential applications of chalcogenide glasses across industries, including protective coatings, cutting tools, biomedical implants, electronic components, and optical and display technologies.
Investigating the adhesion strength at the interface between DLC and chalcogenide glass is important to optimize the material performance in tribological applications where friction and wear resistance are paramount. The goal is to ensure that there is robust bonding between DLC and the chalcogenide glass for long-term stability. Raman spectroscopy is used to assess the bonding configurations within DLC films and to quantify the sp²/sp³ ratio. The mechanical properties of the interface are assessed using nanoindentation to obtain measurements of hardness. The surface morphology of the film is studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The chemical composition and elemental distribution are analyzed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). These characterization techniques help provide a comprehensive understanding of the interface between DLC and chalcogenide glasses.