LAUSR

Abstract Amorphous carbon films containing a wide-range content of Mo and a small amount of Cu (MoCu:a-C films) were prepared by a hybrid sputtering system. The influences of the doping contents of MoCu on the microstructure and properties of the films were studied. The results show that the doped Cu atoms tend to dissolve in the a-C matrix while the doped Mo atoms exist as solid solution and carbide nanoparticles embedding in the a-C matrix. It is found that the size of the carbide nanoparticles shows an influence on the formation of the sp2-C. Increasing the nanoparticle size will decrease the sp2-C fraction and thus increase the sp3/sp2 in the films. The high sp3/sp2 and hard carbide nanoparticles contribute to the high hardness of the films. However, the hard carbide nanoparticles cause serious abrasive wear performances.