Conversion of metal carbides to carbide derived carbon by reactive ion etching in halogen gas

Cai Liang; Barton C. Prorok; Prateek Gupta; Marcin Tlustochovicz; Ranyi Zhu; Michael McNallan

doi:10.1117/12.665054

18 May 2006 Conversion of metal carbides to carbide derived carbon by reactive ion etching in halogen gas

Cai Liang, Barton C. Prorok, Prateek Gupta, Marcin Tlustochovicz, Ranyi Zhu, Michael McNallan

Proceedings Volume 6223, Micro (MEMS) and Nanotechnologies for Space Applications; 62230J (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.665054
Event: Defense and Security Symposium, 2006, Orlando (Kissimmee), Florida, United States

Abstract

The excellent tribological properties, very low friction coefficient, ~0.05, of the recently discovered carbide derived carbon (CDC) films have shown them to be excellent candidates in many applications where friction and wear are dominating issues in performance. In this work we examine the feasibility of employing a reactive ion etching process (RIE) with chlorine gas at low temperature, as opposed to the current high temperature chlorination process, in achieving the conversion of metal carbide films into amorphous carbon films. The overall goal is develop a process that is friendlier to microfabricated devices towards employing the tribological properties of CDC films in such devices. We examine this RIE processing using both bulk scale and thin film specimens. These metal-carbide specimens are subjected to a halogen containing ion plasma at reduced pressure in order to leach out the metal, resulting in an amorphous carbon film, a so-called carbide-derived carbon (CDC) process. This reactive ion etching process has been used to produce carbon layers on multiphase carbide materials containing silicon and titanium. The resulting carbon layers have been characterized using a variety of techniques. The results on the bulk scale specimens, via Raman spectrometry, indicated that RIE processing can indeed achieve conversion, while results of the thin films indicated that although conversion occurred poor adhesion of the films to the substrate resulted spallation during friction testing attempts.

Citation Download Citation

Cai Liang, Barton C. Prorok, Prateek Gupta, Marcin Tlustochovicz, Ranyi Zhu, and Michael McNallan "Conversion of metal carbides to carbide derived carbon by reactive ion etching in halogen gas", Proc. SPIE 6223, Micro (MEMS) and Nanotechnologies for Space Applications, 62230J (18 May 2006); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.665054

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available