Effects of SiN_x interlayer on characterisation of amorphous diamond-like carbon films

Abstract

The magnetron sputtering amorphous diamond-like carbon film is successfully deposited by SiNx interlayer approach. The scanning electron microscopy study reveals the creation of high uniform surface micrograph diamond-like carbon films with SiNx interlayer. For comparison, diamond-like carbon films with different interlayers are also grown. The Raman spectra are analyzed in order to characterize the stressed induce peak shifts of the films. The interactions of C atom with Si(100) and SiNx surface are studied by density functional theory simulation. The effects of interlayers on the films deposition and the considering deposition mechanism are discussed. It is suggested that the diamond-like carbon and SiNx bilayer structure can help to render applications in protective coatings and high quality silicon on diamond related radiation tolerance devices.

Nano-scratch and nano-indentation study of diamond-like carbon/NiP-SiC nanocomposite bilayer

“…As presented in Figure 1(b( there is two deconvoluted Gaussian peaks at 1355–1370 cm −1 (D peak) and 1531–1535 cm −1 (G peak). The G Peak represents the stretching vibration of each pair of carbon atoms with the sp 2 bond in both chains and aromatic rings, but D peaks indicate the breathing mode of the SP 2 atoms in the rings and not the chains [19,26,27].

Figure 1 Raman spectra of the coatings; (a) DLC/A105, DLC/NiP, and DLC/NiP-SiC (b) deconvoluted Raman spectra of DLC/NiP-SiC.

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“…From the Raman spectra, important factor such as the D peak intensity to G peak intensity ratio ( I D / I G ), full width at half maximum of the G peak (GFWHM), and D and G peak position can be found [19,26,27], which are presented in Table 2. According to the relation between I D / I G and sp 3 /sp 2 , the decrease in the I D / I G indicates the smaller sp 2 cluster size and larger sp 3 /sp 2 ratio, which reveals the sp 2 site (graphite) conversion to sp 3 site (diamond) [6,25].…”

Characterization of Ultra-Thin Diamond-Like Carbon Films by SEM/EDX

“…Various seed layer systems have been tested, including metals (Ti, Al, Cr, W) [5][6][7], ceramics (SiO 2 , SiC, TiC, Si 3 N 4 , CrN) [8][9][10], and more complex composite systems [11]. Silicon nitride seeds have been found to be particularly promising in maintaining film stability under tribological stress regimes [12,13]. Following the total film thickness constraints, the seed layer has to be likewise kept as thin as possible [14].…”