Synthesis of carbon films in a plasma-chemical reactor based on beam-plasma discharge

A modification of the plasma-chemical reactor based on beam-plasma discharge is developed for the deposition of carbon (including diamond-like carbon (DLC)) films. The reactor differs from the existing devices by the simplicity of the procedure that makes it possible to control the energy characteristics of the ion beam incident on the film in the course of deposition. A method for the computer simulation of the parameters of the ion flux on an electrically insulated surface upon the modulation of the plasma potential is proposed. The method allows the prediction of the ion energy and ion flux that acts upon the deposited film. DLC films on metal substrates are produced. The charge deep-level transient spectroscopy is used to reveal the effect of the adsorbed water and alcohol vapors on the electrophysical properties of the films, which indicates that the films can be used as active adsorbing materials in chemical sensors.