Combined magnetron sputtering and pulsed laser deposition of carbides and diamond-like carbon films

A hybrid technique is reported, which combines magnetron sputtering and pulsed laser ablation to produce plasma fluxes intersected on a substrate surface to form metal, ceramic and diamond-like materials. Deposition of crystalline Ti, TixCy, TiCN, and amorphous diamond-like carbon films at low temperatures by the new technique is discussed. The variation of laser pulse frequency is found to be a simple way to control film chemical composition. The technique can be used to prepare materials with transitional structure, as, for example, between metal carbides and diamond-like carbon.