Formation of hydrogenated amorphous carbon films of controlled hardness from a methane plasma

Vandentop, G.J.; Kawasaki, Mitsuo; Nix, RM; Brown, I.G.; Salmerón, Miquel; Somorjai, G.A.

doi:10.1103/physrevb.41.3200

Cited by 94 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 28 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Also investigated was the dependance of the optical gap of the films, and the con- of ions is insufficient for ions to be the main precursor species responsible for the bulk mass deposition of the films. This is consistent with the conclusion reached in previous work 3 , that the reactive plasma species responsible for the bulk mass deposition of the films are radicals and not ions.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 93%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The effect of ion energy flux on the properties of hydrogenated amorphous carbon films

Vandentop

Kawasaki

Kobayashi

et al. 1991

Journal of Vacuum Science &Amp; Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this study the effect of varying ion energy flux on the properties of amorphous hydrogenated carbon films produced by plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition from methane was investigated. The ion current, used to calculate the apparent ion energy flux, was measured through an orifice in one of the electrodes of the parallel plate system, using a Faraday cup. The film properties investigated include hardness, stress, methyl and methylene concentrations, and optical gap. All the observed properties vary significantly with ion energy flux and are strongly correlated with each other. As ion energy flux increases, the hardness increases, the compressive stress increases, the concentration of methyl and methylene groups decrease, and the optical gap decreases. The results demonstrate how the ion energy flux on to the film surface controls the final properties of the films.

show abstract

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…The variation of film hardness with pulsed biasing conditions was investigated in a previous paper 3 …”

Section: Effect Of Average Energy Flux On A-c:h Film Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of ion energy flux on the properties of hydrogenated amorphous carbon films

Vandentop

Kawasaki

Kobayashi

et al. 1991

Journal of Vacuum Science &Amp; Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…3. 2. 1000 by 1000 (A) 2 STM topographic image of a-C:H formation on graphite. High cluster density area.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition (PACVD) using methane as the feedgas. In a previous study 2 ), the different roles of the plasma radicals and plasma ions in the process . of bulk film growth were elucidated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observation of the initial stages of growth of hydrogenated amorphous carbon films by scanning tunneling microscopy

Vandentop

Nascente

Kawasaki

et al. 1991

Journal of Vacuum Science &Amp; Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Scanning tunneling microscopy was used to investigate the initial stages of growth of hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) films. The films were deposited on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite and silicon substrates both on the powered (negatively self-biased) and grounded electrodes from a methane rf plasma (13.56 MHz) at 68–70 mTorr and room temperature. On graphite substrates, films formed at the powered electrode were observed to nucleate in clusters ∼50 Å in diameter. Cluster density increased with deposition time, while cluster size remained relatively constant. The atomic structure of individual clusters was resolved and found to be amorphous, containing areas of both five- and sixfold rings in a disordered matrix. No long-range order was observed. The C–H bonding in these clusters was observed by high-resolution electron-energy-loss spectroscopy. Films formed on graphite substrates placed at the grounded electrode produced very noisy images due to an unstable tunneling gap, indicative of the material’s poor electrical conductivity. On silicon substrates placed at the powered electrode, cluster formation was not observed, and the films formed were measured to be flat to within 3-Å rms. The clusters formed on graphite at the powered electrode may be initiated by nucleation sites created by high-energy ion bombardment. Due to the higher reactivity of silicon, growth onto these substrates proceeds without the requirement of ion bombardment nucleation sites, thus the more homogeneous growth on silicon.

show abstract

“…The SiC deposition experiments were performed in the reaction chamber described in detail elsewhere (7). The schematic diagram of this system is shown in figure 1.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Preparation and characterization of amorphous SiC:H thin films

Delplancke¹,

Powers²,

Vandentop³

et al. 1991

Journal of Vacuum Science &Amp; Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Silicon carbide films were deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition utilizing monomethylsilane (CH3SiH3). Silicon (100) and polycrystalline gold were used as substrates. A mass spectrometric analysis of the monomethylsilane plasma showed that the majority of the Si–C bonds were preserved in the gas phase. The composition, the density and morphology of the amorphous SiC:H (a:SiC:H) films were studied as a function of substrate temperature, composition of the ion flux bombarding the surface and the kinetic energy of these ions. The surface science techniques utilized for these investigations include x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared, and Raman spectroscopies.

show abstract

Formation of hydrogenated amorphous carbon films of controlled hardness from a methane plasma

Cited by 94 publications

References 28 publications

The effect of ion energy flux on the properties of hydrogenated amorphous carbon films

The effect of ion energy flux on the properties of hydrogenated amorphous carbon films

Observation of the initial stages of growth of hydrogenated amorphous carbon films by scanning tunneling microscopy

Preparation and characterization of amorphous SiC:H thin films

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About