Adhesion Measurement of Amorphous C : H Films Deposited onto Stainless Steel. Spectroscopic Investigation of Interfaces

Abstract Amorphous hydrogenated carbon films obtained by the Plasma Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition (PACVD) process, have been extensively studied by many authors1,2,3 because of their interesting properties (hardness, optical transparency, chemical inertness, high electrical resistivity). In the present work, carbon films were deposited on stainless steel from glow-discharge polymerization of methane at reduced pressure, using an RF generator operating at 13.56 MHz. These thin protective films are able to play the role of a primer to which another polymer (adhesive, paint, lacquer …) can subsequently be adhered. Surface treatments of the substrate and of the polymeric film were developed in order to obtain suitable adhesion properties, firstly of the film on the metal substrate, secondly of an adhesive on the hydrogenated carbon film. These treatments were monitored by two spectroscopic methods, viz. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and (Low Energy Electron Induced X-ray Spectrometry) (LEEIXS). Mechanical measurements were made using a three-point flexure test4 (Norm AFNOR T 30 010).