Abstract: The disclosure is for a film coating which yields increased life for optical media molds and the method and apparatus for making such a film. The film is a carbon nitride layer of 0.5 to 5.0 microns thickness with 2% to 45% nitrogen coated on an underlayer. One method of making the carbon nitride film is by the use of a pulsed carbon arc to generate a carbon plasma while injecting nitrogen into the vacuum chamber in which the arc is created. Another method is to generate a radio frequency plasma in a vacuum chamber into which acetylene and nitrogen gas are injected. The carbon nitride is formed by the combination of nitrogen with the carbon from the acetylene.

Abstract: The disclosure is for a film coating which yields increased life for optical media molds and the method and apparatus for making such a film. The film is a carbon nitride layer of 0.5 to 5.0 microns thickness with 2% to 45% nitrogen coated on an underlayer. One method of making the carbon nitride film is by the use of a pulsed carbon arc to generate a carbon plasma while injecting nitrogen into the vacuum chamber in which the arc is created. Another method is to generate a radio frequency plasma in a vacuum chamber into which acetylene and nitrogen gas are injected. The carbon nitride is formed by the combination of nitrogen with the carbon from the acetylene.

Abstract: The disclosure is for an improved film coating useable on optical media molds and the apparatus for and method of making such a film. The film is a diamond-like carbon layer of 0.3 to 3.0 microns coated on a titanium underlayer of 0.1 to 1.0 microns. The method of making the diamond-like carbon film is to deposit a defect free underlayer coating on to the steel substrate of the mold using an electron beam coating apparatus that has a hollow cathode electron beam generator and a rotating crucible containing the coating material. The diamond-like carbon film is then produced on top of the underlayer coating.