Thermal stability of amorphous carbon films deposited by pulsed laser ablation

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films have been grown on Si substrates at ambient temperature by the pulsed-laser ablation technique, using pulses of differ ent durations both in the nano- and picosecond ranges and at various energy fluences. The stability of these films was investigated as a function of t hermal anneals performed in UHV conditions up to 1273 K. Their physico-chem ical properties have been characterized by different techniques including X -ray photoemission, Auger electron and electron-energy-loss spectroscopies, Raman scattering, spectroscopic ellipsometry and atomic-force microscopy. The thermal stability of the films has been demonstrated to be related to t heir initial structural (sp(3)/sp(2) ratio) and chemical (contaminant) prop erties. DLC layers prepared under optimized conditions have been found to s how a very good thermal stability up to 900 K.