Electrical properties of diamond-like nanocomposite coatings

Abstract

Diamond-like nanocomposite (DLN) films comprising of C, H, Si, O and metal atoms were deposited on metallized silicon substrates via an accelerated plasma approach. The films were investigated by Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Rutherford backscattering. The film resistivity, dielectric constant, electrical breakdown and current-voltage hysteresis characteristics were measured using metal-insulator-metal heterostructures. Results indicate that DLN film resistivities can be tailored over 16 orders of magnitude (10 14–10 −2 Ω-cm). Current-voltage measurements yielded breakdown strengths larger than 10 6 V/cm. The dielectric constant of the films investigated ranges from 3 to 8. Capacitance-voltage characteristics and the effect of temperature cycling was also studied. The properties of electrical tailorability and diamond-like properties make DLN a suitable candidate for applications requiring both wear resistance and electrical tailorability.