Deposition of diamondlike carbon films

A diamondlike carbon film is deposited in the surface of a substrate by exposing the surface to an argon ion beam containing a hydrocarbon. The current density in the ion beam is low during initial deposition of the film. Subsequent to this initial low current condition, the ion beam is increased to full power. At the same time, a second argon ion beam is directed toward the surface of the substrate. The second ion beam has an energy level much greater than that of the ion beam containing the hydrocarbon. This addition of energy to the system increases mobility of the condensing atoms and serves to remove lesser bound atoms.