Optical and electronic properties of amorphous diamond

The optical and electronic properties of highly tetrahedral amorphous diamond-like carbon (amorphous diamond, a-D) films were investigated. The structure of the films grown on silicon and glass substrates, under similar deposition conditions using a compact filtered cathodic vacuum arc system, are compared using electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). Results from hydrogenation of the films are also reported. The hydrogenated films show two prominent IR absorption peaks centered at 2920 and 2840 cm-1, which are assigned to the stretch mode of the C-H bond in the sp3 configuration on the C-H3 and C-H sites respectively. The high loss EELS spectra show no reduction in the high sp3 content in the hydrogenated films. UV and visible transmission spectra of a-D thin films are also presented. The optical band gap of 2.0-2.2 eV for the a-D films is found to be consistent with the electronic bandgap. The relationship between the intrinsic compressive stress in the films and the refractive index is also presented. The space charge limited current flow is analyzed and coupled with the optical absorption data to give an estimate of 1018 cm-3 eV-1 for the valence band edge density of states.

Deposition of diamond-like carbon films by photon-enhanced chemical vapour deposition of methane using a windowless hydrogen lamp

Thin films of diamond-like carbon (DLC) have been deposited using a novel photon-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (photo-CVD) method. This low energy method may be a way to produce better interfaces in electronic devices by reducing damage due to ion bombardment. Methane requires high energy photons for photolysis to take place and these are not transmitted in most photo-CVD methods owing to the presence of a window between the lamp and the deposition environment. In our photo-CVD system there is no window and all the high energy photons are transmitted into the reaction gas. Initial work has proved promising and this paper presents recent results. Films have been characterized by measuring electron energy loss spectra, by ellipsometry and by fabricating and testing diode structures. Results indicate that the films are of a largely amorphous nature and are semiconducting. Diode structures have on/off current ratios of up to 106.