Residual Stresses in DLC Films and Adhesion to Various Substrates

The origin of residual stresses in thin films and various models invoked to explain the development of such stresses are reviewed in the first part the chapter. Compressive intrinsic stresses develop in fully dense films such as diamond-like carbon (DLC) films produced at room temperature by energetic deposition techniques. Fundamental aspects related to residual stresses and adhesion of films, as well as the determination of the stress magnitude and adhesion strength of DLC films are presented in the second part. The effects of deposition parameters on the intrinsic stress level are analyzed in detail. The reduction of the stress level and improvement of film adhesion can be achieved via various approaches described in the last part of the chapter.