A review of plasma-assisted deposition methods for amorphous carbon thin and ultrathin films with a focus on the cathodic vacuum arc technique

Amorphous carbon (a-C) films have garnered significant attention over the past few decades, principally due to their remarkable thermophysical properties, strong adherence various materials, and good chemical inertness. These intrinsic characteristics of a-C led use as protective overcoats in numerous applications, such hard-disk drives, microelectromechanical systems, biomedical implants. The thinning a nanometers, dictated by rapid advances device miniaturization compactness, motivated development thin-film deposition methods that preserve important film attributes like uniformity, strength, structural stability. This article provides comprehensive assessment most effective techniques for synthesizing ultrathin films, particularly wide application range contemporary technologies, state-of-the-art microanalysis technology challenges must be overcome CVA capture bigger share marketplace.