Microstructure changes of Ti-Al-C films deposited by filtered cathodic vacuum arc

Nanocomposite Ti-Al-C films were deposited by filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) at different CH4 flows. The deposited films were characterized in terms of elemental and phase compositions, chemical bonds, and texture as a function of CH4 flow rate by XRD, XPS, HRTEM, Raman spectroscopy, and IR spectroscopy. The results show that the TiC grain size decreases from 4.2 to 2.9 nm as the CH4 flow rate increases from 30 to 80 sccm. The analysis of XPS, HRTEM, and Raman spectroscopy shows that the microstructure of deposited films turns from a TiC dominant TiC-C film to a carbon network dominant TiAl-doped a-C film structure as the CH4 flow increases from 30 sccm to 80 sccm. IR spectroscopy shows that most of the hydrogen atoms in the deposited films are bonded to the sp3-hybridized C atoms. All the composition and microstructure change can be explained by considering the plasma conditions and the effect of CH4 flow.