Properties of Ultra Fast Deposited Diamond-Like Hydrogenated Carbon Films

• Authors: J. Sullivan , S. Saied , T. Zaharia
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Hydrogenated amorphous carbon films with diamond like structures have been formed on different substrates at very low energies and temperatures by a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process employing acetylene as the precursor gas. The plasma source was of a cascaded arc type with Ar as carrier gas. The films were grown at very high deposition rates. Deposition on Si, glass and plastic substrates has been studied and the films characterized in terms of sp^3 content, roughness, hardness, adhesion and optical properties. Deposition rates up to 20 nm/s have been achieved at substrate temperatures below 100°C. The typical sp^3 content of 60-75% in the films was determined by X-ray generated Auger electron spectroscopy. Hardness, reduced modulus and adhesion were measured using a MicroMaterials Nano Test Indenter/Scratch tester. Hardness was found to vary from 4 to 13 GPa depending on deposition conditions. Adhesion was significantly influenced by the substrate temperature and in situ DC cleaning. Hydrogen content in the film was measured by a combination of the Fourier transform infrared and Rutherford backscattering techniques. Advantages of these films are: low ion energy and deposition temperature, very high deposition rates, low capital cost of the equipment and the possibility of film properties being tailored according to the desired application.

Keywords

EN

81.15.-z; 52.77.-j

Discipline

• 52.77.-j: Plasma applications
• 81.15.-z: Methods of deposition of films and coatings; film growth and epitaxy(for structure of thin films, see 68.55.-a; see also 85.40.Sz Deposition technology in microelectronics; for epitaxial dielectric films, see 77.55.Px)

• Publisher: Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Acta Physica Polonica A
• Year: 2011
• Volume: 120
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 156-162

Dates

published

2011-07

Contributors

author

J. Sullivan

• SEAS, Aston University, Birmingham, B4 7ET, United Kingdom

author

S. Saied

• SEAS, Aston University, Birmingham, B4 7ET, United Kingdom

author

T. Zaharia

• SEAS, Aston University, Birmingham, B4 7ET, United Kingdom

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Identifiers

DOI

10.12693/APhysPolA.120.156