Optical Characterization of Amorphous Hydrogenated Carbon (a-C:H) Thin Films Prepared by Single RF Plasma Method

Abstract

Methane (CH4) plasma was used to produce amorphous hydrogenated carbon (a-C:H) films by a single capacitively coupled radio frequency (RF) powered plasma system. The system consists of two parallel electrodes: the upper electrode is connected to 13.56 MHz RF power and the lower one is connected to the ground. Thin films were deposited on glass slides with different sizes and on silicon wafers. The influence of the plasma species on film characteristics was studied by changing the plasma parameters. The changes of plasma species during the deposition were investigated by optical emission spectroscopy (OES). The structural and optical properties were analyzed via Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV-visible spectroscopy, and the thicknesses of the samples were measured by a profilometer. The sp3/sp2 ratio and the existing H atoms play a significant role in the determination of the chemical properties of thin films in the plasma. The film quality and deposition rate were both increased by raising the power and the flow rate.