A study on the preparation of diamond like carbon film and its electrodes

Abstract

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films have attracted much attention because of their excellent performance; however, the low anti-laser damage ability of such films seriously restricts their applicability. To overcome this problem, applying the bias field to the DLC film could slow down the DLC film graphitization process and improve the LIDT of the DLC film. Results showed that the longitudinal electric field could decrease the sp3 hybridization to sp2 hybridization, prevent the formation of sp2 clusters. in this study, Unbalanced magnetron sputtering (UBMS) was used to deposit a diamond-like carbon (DLC) film on Si substrates. The refractive index and extinction coefficient of the DLC films were measured using elliptical polarization spectrometer. The transmittance and the surface roughness of DLC films were examined using optical microscopy, SEM, AFM and Raman spectroscopy. Ti electrodes were deposited on DLC films directly, forming a transverse and longitudinal bias field on films’ surfaces. The 3D electrodes morphology of the DLC film was observed. The electrode thickness was measured by a white-light interferometer, and the average thickness of the electrodes was 325.90 nm. The surface roughness of the electrodes was tested using the Talysurf CCI 2000 noncontact surface-measuring instrument, and the average roughness of the electrodes was 0.50 nm. The electrodes have good Ohmic contact and little thermal stress, and it can be used to form a parallel electric field.