Amorphous carbon films have many applications that require control over their sp³ fraction to customise the electrical, optical and mechanical properties. Examples of these applications include coatings for machine parts, biomedical and microelectromechanical devices. In this work, we demonstrate the use of a magnetic field with a high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) source as a simple, new approach to give control over the sp³ fraction. We provide evidence that this strategy enhances the deposition rate by focusing the flux, giving films with high tetrahedral bonding at the centre of the deposition field and lower sp³ fractions further from the centre. Resistive switching appears in films with intermediate sp³ fractions. The production of thin amorphous carbon films with selected properties without the need for electrical bias opens up applications where insulating substrates are required. For example, deposition of sp³ rich films on polymers for wear resistant coatings as well as fabrication of resistive switching devices for neuromorphic technologies that require tuning of the sp³ fraction on insulating substrates are now possible.

非晶碳膜有许多应用，需要对其sp ³分数进行控制以定制电，光学和机械性能。这些应用的示例包括用于机械零件，生物医学和微机电设备的涂层。在这项工作中，我们演示了将磁场与高功率脉冲磁控溅射（HiPIMS）源一起使用，作为一种简单的新方法来控制sp ³分数。我们提供的证据表明，该策略可通过集中通量来提高沉积速率，从而在沉积场的中心产生具有高四面体键合的膜，而离中心较远的sp ³分数较低。电阻开关出现在中间sp ^3的薄膜中分数。具有选定特性的无定形碳薄膜的生产无需电偏压，从而开辟了需要绝缘基板的应用。例如，现在可以在聚合物上沉积富含sp ^3的薄膜，以用于耐磨涂层，以及制造用于神经形态技术的电阻转换装置，这些装置需要调整绝缘基板上的sp ³分数。