Raman spectra of diamond-like carbon films deposited by vacuum cathodic arc

The structures of diamond-like carbon (DLC) films deposited by vacuum arc evaporation with and without curve arc magnetic filter are studied and compared using Raman shifts. The Raman shifts are deconvolved into D peak and G peak with Gaussian-Lorentzion fitness. The effects of the deposition parameters such as bias voltage and bias current strength of curved magnetic fields on the DLC films structures are discussed. The results show that Ar gas pressure has not obvious effect on the formation of the DLC film; moderate bias current increases the sp³ content; the sp² cluster can be increased for a too high substrate bias. The magnetic curved filter not only can remove the carbon macroparticles, but also can improve the sp³ content.