Abstract
a-C:H films were prepared by chemical vapour deposition assisted by electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma from CH4 at low pressure (p ≤ 0.35 Pa) with radio frequency (RF) power applied to the substrate. The effects of negative bias voltage Vb on deposition rate R and structure of the films were examined. As a consequence of RF polarisation, good adhesive diamond-like carbon (DLC) films with R ≤ 200 A/min were obtained. The microstructure of the films has been studied by ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared (UV-Vis-NIR) spectroscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). Films deposited from ECR plasma at 0.35 Pa were compared to films obtained from an RF plasma of CH4 in a diode reactor at 7 Pa. The FTIR and EELS results suggest that with increasing Vb the amount of hydrogen and C sp2 decreases and the network becomes highly sp3 bonded. HRTEM studies reveal the existence of nanocrystalline diamond clusters in the amorphous matrix. It appears that the deposition from a dual ECR-RF plasma at low pressure can be a powerful and flexible technique to obtain a-C:H films with an important amount of C sp3 bonding and a low hydrogen content.
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