Parylene precursors for diamond-like carbon coatings
OwnerGeoffrey Dearnaleyinventor
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Abstract
The present invention provides a new class of precursors for forming an improved diamond-like carbon coating on a workpiece. The precursors of the present invention are paraxylylenes, preferably dimers of paraxylylene, which are solid at room temperature and which will vaporize, pyrolize to substantially monomeric form, condense onto a workpiece, and spontaneously polymerize to form a "parylene" film which is free of precursor droplets and absorbed water. Upon bombardment with an ion beam, the parylene film is converted into a uniform, pinhole-free DLC coating.
Claims22
A method for producing a diamond-like carbon coating on a cleaned workpiece comprising:
- evacuating a vaporizing chamber to a pressure of at least about 10.sup.-6 torr;
- vaporizing a solid paraxylylene precursor in said chamber at a temperature sufficient to vaporize but insufficient to decompose said precursor;
- pyrolyzing said paraxylylene precursor for a time and at a temperature sufficient to disassociate said precursor into substantially monomeric paraxylylene;
- condensing said substantially monomeric paraxylylene onto the cleaned workpiece in a chamber evacuated to about 10.sup.-4 to 10.sup.-5 torr, whereby said substantially monomeric paraxylylene polymerizes to form a parylene film;
- bombarding said parylene film with ions at energies between about 500 eV to 100 keV to form the diamond-like carbon coating on said workpiece.
A method for producing a diamond-like carbon coating on a cleaned workpiece comprising:
- evacuating a vaporizing chamber to a pressure of at least about 10.sup.-6 torr;
- vaporizing a solid paraxylylene precursor in said chamber at a temperature sufficient to vaporize but insufficient to decompose said precursor;
- pyrolyzing said paraxylylene precursor for a time and at a temperature sufficient to disassociate said precursor into substantially monomeric paraxylylene;
- condensing said substantially monomeric paraxylylene onto the cleaned workpiece in a chamber evacuated to about 10.sup.-4 to 10.sup.-5 torr whereby said substantially monomeric paraxylylene polymerizes to form a parylene film;
- bombarding said parylene film with ions at energies between about 10-30 keV to form the diamond-like carbon coating on said workpiece.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.