The influence of methane gas pressure on the optical, electrical and structural properties of nitrogenated amorphous carbon films grown by surface wave microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition

摘要

The influence of methane gas (CH4) pressure on the optical, electrical and structural properties of the nitrogenated amorphous carbon nitride (a-C:N) films grown by microwave surface wave plasma chemical vapor deposition (SWP-CVD) on quartz and silicon (100) substrates have been studied. The a-C:N films are deposited with varying CH4 gas ranging from 5 to 20 ml/min. To incorporate nitrogen in the film, we have introduced nitrogen gas (N) at 5 ml/min in the chamber. The effects of CH4 gas pressure on the surface morphology, composition, structure, and electrical properties of the N-incorporated camphoric carbon thin films have been investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), UV-visible spectroscopy and four-probe resistance measurement. We have succeed in growing a-C:N thin films using SWP-CVD at room temperature and found that the amorphous structure of a-C films can be changed and is strongly dependent on the CH4 gas source.