Correlation of sp~3 and sp~2 fraction of carbon with electrical, optical and nano-mechanical properties of argon-diluted diamond-like carbon films

摘要

In the present work the correlation of electrical, optical and nano-mechanical properties of argon-diluted diamond-like carbon (Ar-DLC) thin films with sp~3 and sp~2 fractions of carbon have been explored. These Ar-DLC thin films have been deposited, under varying C_2H_2 gas pressures from 25 to 75 mTorr, by radio frequency-plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies are performed to estimate the sp~3 and sp~2 fractions of carbon by deconvoluting C 1s core level spectra. Various electrical, optical and nano-mechanical parameters such as conductivity, 7-Vcharacteris-tics, optical band gap, stress, hardness, elastic modulus, plastic resistance parameter, elastic recovery and plastic deformation energy have been estimated and then correlated with calculated sp~3 and sp~2 fractions of carbon and sp~3/sp~2 ratios. Observed tremendous electrical, optical and nano-mechanical properties in Ar-DLC films deposited under high base pressure conditions made it a cost effective material for not only hard and protective coating applications but also for electronic and optoelectronic applications.