Synthesis and Characteristics of Diamond-like Carbon Films Deposited on Quartz Substrate

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films are deposited on quartz substrate using pure CH4 in the surface wave plasma equipment. A direct current negative bias up to -90 V is applied to the substrate to investigate the bias effect on the film characteristics. Deposited films are characterized by Raman spectroscopy, infrared (IR) and ultraviolet-visible absorption techniques.There are two broad Raman peaks around 1340 cm-1 and 1600 cm-1 and the first one has a greater sp3 component with an increased bias. Infrared spectroscopy has three sp3 C-H modes at 2852 cm-1, 2926 cm- 1 and 2962 cm-1, respectively and also shows an intensity increase with the negative bias. Optical band gap is calculated from the ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy and the increased values with negative bias and deposition time are obtained. After a thermal anneal at about 500 ℃ for an hour to the film deposited under the bias of-90 V, we get an almost unchanged Raman spectrum and a peak intensity-reduced IR signal, which indicates a reduced H-content in the film. Meanwhile the optical band gap changed from 0.85 eV to 1.5 eV.