PROPERTIES OF THIN A-C SI-H COATINGS APPLIED TO TEXTOR/

Thin, hydrogenated silicon and carbon containing films have been depos ited by the siliconization procedure on targets made from some metal a lloys, pure metals, graphite and Si single crystal. The deposits were investigated by electron microprobe and surface analysis techniques co mbined with ion sputtering, infrared spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, ellipsometry and by nuclear reaction and backscattering techniques. Th e stoichiometry of the layers were controlled by particle balance. The y are amorphous, semitransparent, and homogeneous throughout the layer . They are hard, non abrasive, and adhere firmly to the substrate. The ir density is approximate to 1.5 g cm(-3) for a-C/Si:H and approximate to 2.0 gcm(-3) for a-Si:H, the refractive index n = 2 +/- 0.2, the ex tinction coefficient k << 0.01. Carbon and silicon form carbidic Si-C bonds, hydrogen is attached both to carbon and to silicon. The deposit s are chemically inert to molecular oxygen, but they strongly getter O -ions. Chemical erosion rates of a-C/Si:H films by H+ are a factor 30 less than those of pure carbon films (a-C:H).