Structural, morphological, and mechanical properties of plasma deposited hydrogenated amorphous carbon thin films: Ar gas dilution effects

In this article, a thorough investigation of a-C:H films deposited by rf gl ow discharge from methane-argon mixtures, containing different Ar fractions , onto silicon substrate is presented. The structural, mechanical, and morp hological properties of these films were investigated by complementary tech niques, such as x-ray reflectivity, Raman spectroscopy, Brillouin light sca ttering, pin on disk test, and atomic force microscopy. Experimental result s are examined to develop a coherent picture of the relationships among dep osition parameters, microstructural features, and macroscopic properties. T he consistency of the experimental results are checked with a new theoretic al physical model that predicts the reaction probability for methyl radical s interacting with the surface of amorphous hydrogenated carbon films. (C) 2001 American Vacuum Society.