Surface flashover characteristics of diamond-like carbon thin films in vacuum

Synthetic thin films such as diamond-like carbon (DLC) and polycrystalline diamond thin films can be used to increase surface flashover voltage of dielectric materials used in HV devices operating in vacuum. This work presents experimental results identifying some surface flashover characteristics of diamond-like carbon (DLC) thin films in space vacuum conditions. The DLC samples used in the experiments are produced by a microwave plasma deposition technique. The electrode material was copper, and a dc voltage was applied between the electrodes. Surface flashover voltage characteristics and the breakdown voltage wave forms of DLC thin film samples were determined. The results showed that DLC thin films may not be suitable materials for HV applications as dielectric materials in vacuum when coated onto semiconductor materials. Additionally, these results were compared with the surface flashover characteristics of polycrystalline diamond thin film and quartz samples.