Structural and optical properties of Ni-embedded hydrogenated diamond-like carbon (Ni-DLC) prepared by co-deposition of RF-Sputtering and RF-PECVD method

Abstract

The composite nickel incorporated diamond-like carbon (Ni-DLC) thin films were produced by using RF-Sputtering and RF-Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition(RF-PECVD) from acetylene gas and nickel target in various RF powers. The structural and optical properties of thin films with increasing nickel content were investigated. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) study shows completely an amorphous structure. The presence of Ni and carbon content were confirmed by Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) Spectra. The optical band gap energy decreases from 4.58 to 3.66eV with increasing applied power. The Urbach energy displays a decreasing trend from 0.472 to 0.189eV. It is shown that the Ni content and the size of nanoparticles could be controlled by adjusting RF applied power.