Influence of Microwave Power on the Properties of Hydrogenated Diamond-Like Carbon Films Prepared by ECR Plasma Enhanced DC Magnetron Sputtering

Electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma was applied to enhance the direct current magnetron sputtering to prepare hydrogenated diamond-like carbon (H-DLC) films. For different microwave powers, both argon and hydrogen gas are introduced separately as the ECR working gas to investigate the influence of microwave power on the microstructure and electrical property of the H-DLC films deposited on P-type silicon substrates. A series of characterization methods including the Raman spectrum and atomic force microscopy are used. Results show that, within a certain range, the increase in microwave power affects the properties of the thin films, namely the sp3 ratio, the hardness, the nanoparticle size and the resistivity all increase while the roughness decreases with the increase in microwave power. The maximum of resistivity amounts to 1.1×109 Ωcm. At the same time it is found that the influence of microwave power on the properties of H-DLC films is more pronounced when argon gas is applied as the ECR working gas, compared to hydrogen gas.