In:
Journal of Applied Physics, AIP Publishing, Vol. 86, No. 4 ( 1999-08-15), p. 2268-2277
Kurzfassung:
Ultrathin films of amorphous carbon (a-C) were deposited on Si(100) substrates by radio frequency (rf) sputtering using pure Ar as sputtering gas, rf power of 80–1000 W, and substrate bias voltage between 0 and −300 V. The films possessed a thickness of 6–95 nm, nanohardness of 12–40 GPa, and root-mean-square surface roughness of 0.15–32 nm, depending on the deposition conditions. Plasma parameters of the film growth environment were correlated to the deposition conditions to obtain insight into the phenomena responsible for changing the growth characteristics and nanomechanical properties of the a-C films. The surface binding energies of carbon atoms in the films were interpreted in terms of measured sputter etching rates due to energetic Ar ion bombardment at a kinetic energy of 850 eV. Higher etching rates were found for a-C films with higher growth rates and lower hardness. Ultrathin (10 nm) a-C films of maximum nanohardness (∼39 GPa) were synthesized at 3 mTorr working pressure, 750 W rf power, −200 V substrate bias, and 5 min deposition time. Results are presented to elucidate the effects of rf power, working pressure, and substrate bias on the quality of a-C films deposited by controlling the ion-current density, mean free path, and sheath voltages in the rf discharges. The latter are important parameters affecting the ratio of ion to atom fluxes and the intensity (power density) of ion bombardment on the growing film surface.
Materialart:
Online-Ressource
ISSN:
0021-8979
,
1089-7550
Sprache:
Englisch
Verlag:
AIP Publishing
Publikationsdatum:
1999
ZDB Id:
220641-9
ZDB Id:
3112-4
ZDB Id:
1476463-5
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