Growth and Characterization of the High Purity C-Mg Thin Films Obtained by Thermionic Vacuum Arc (TVA) Technology

Abstract

We investigated the growth and structure properties of C-Mg thin films obtained for the first time by Thermionic Vacuum Arc (TVA) deposition. The TVA technology is suitable for producing nanostructured materials because of the high power density of the vapor plasma generated by accelerated electron flux from the cathode and high energy of the ions incident on the depositing film, both these properties ensuring a high dispersion of the evaporated material. The properties of the deposited C-Mg thin films were investigated in terms of wettability and morphology. The surface free energy (SFE) was determined by means of Surface Energy Evaluation System (See System) indicating a hydrophobic character and the morphology were determined from BF-TEM image performed by Philips CM 120 ST TEM system.