Diamond Like Carbon Film Deposited on Porous Silicon as Passivation Coating

By depositing diamond like carbon (DLC) film with radio frequency plasma chemical vapor deposition (RFPCVD) method, a new surface passivation technique for photoluminescence porous silicon (PS) has been studied. The surface microstructure and photoelectric properties of both porous silicon and DLC coated PS have been analyzed by using AFM, FTIR and PL spectrotrieters. The results show the DLC film with dense and homogenous nanometer grains can be deposited on the PS used as passivation coating as it can terminate oxide reaction on the surface of the PS. Furthermore, certain ratio of hydrogen existed in the DLC film can be improved to form hydride species on the DLC/PS interface as the centers of the luminescence so that the DLC coating is of benefit not only to the passivation of the PS but also to the improvement of its luminescent intensity.

Preparation of Diamond-like Carbon Films on the Surface of Ti Alloy by Electro-deposition

In this paper, diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were deposited on Ti alloy by electro-deposition. DLC films were brown andcomposed of the compact grains whose diameter was about 400 nm. Examined by XPS, the main composition of the filmswas carbon. In the Raman spectrum, there were a broad peak at 1350 cm^(-1) and a broad peak at 1600 cm^(-1), which indicatedthat the films were DLC films.

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 1.1×10^9 Ω.cm. 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.

Structure and Mechanical Performance of Nitrogen Doped Diamond-like Carbon Films

Nitrogen doped diamond-like carbon （DLC：N） films were prepared by electron cyclotron resonance chemical vapor deposition （ECR-CVD） on polycrystalline Si chips. Film thickness is about 50 nm. Auger electron spectroscopy （AES） was used to evaluate nitrogen content, and increasing N2 flow improved N content from 0 to 7.6%. Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） analysis results reveal CN-sp^3C and N-sp^2C structure. With increasing the N2 flow, sp^3C decreases from 73.74% down to 42.66%, and so does N-sp^3C from 68.04% down to 20.23%. The hardness decreases from 29.18 GPa down to 19.74 GPa, and the Young＇s modulus from 193.03 GPa down to 144.52 GPa.

Fabrication of Diamond-like Carbon Films by Ion Assisted Middle Frequency Unbalanced Magnetron Sputtering

Diamond-like carbon （DLC） films are deposited by the Hall ion source assisted by the mid-frequency unbalanced magnetron sputtering technique. The effects of the substrate voltage bias, the substrate temperature, the Hall discharging current and the argon/nitrogen ratio on the DLC film＇s performance were studied. The experimental results show that the film＇s surface roughness, the hardness and the Young＇s modulus increase firstly and then decrease with the bias voltage incrementally increases. Also when the substrate temperature rises, the surface roughness of the film varies slightly, but its hardness and Young＇s modulus firstly increase followed by a sharp decrease when the temperature surpassing 120 ℃. With the Hall discharging current incrementally rising, the hardness and Young＇s modulus of the film decrease and the surface roughness of the film on 316L stainless steel firstly decreased and then remains constant.

Characterization and Application of Diamond-like Carbon Films

Diamond like carbon films were synthesized by the pulsed laser deposition method under a magnetic filed. The magnetic field was used to enhance the hardness of the films. Analysis with transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy were carried out to characterize the films. As a protective coating, the film was deposited on porous silicon. The influence of the coating on the photoluminescence properties of porous silicon was studied.

Irradiation Effect of γ Rays on Diamond-Like Carbon Films

Diamond like carbon films, prepared by RF glow discharge on glass substrates, were irradiated by γ rays. The as deposited and irradiated films were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, electrical resistivity, and infrared transmittance. It is shown that the irradiation of the γ rays can lead to the breaking of SP 3 C H and SP 2 C H bonds, slight increasing of SP 3 C C bonds, and induced hydrogen recombination with H 2 molecules, subsequently diffusing to the surface of the films. When the γ rays irradiation dose reached 10×10 4 Gy, the numbers of SP 3 C H bonds was decreased by about 50%, the resistivity of irradiated DLC films was increased, and the diamond like character of the films became more obvious. The structure of DLC films was modified when irradiated by γ rays. The irradiation mechanisms are briefly discussed.

Effects of nitrogen content on structure and electrical properties of nitrogen-doped fluorinated diamond-like carbon films

Nitrogen-doped fluorinated diamond-like carbon(FN-DLC)films were prepared on single crystal silicon substrate by radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition(RF-PECVD)under different deposited conditions with CF4,CH4 and nitrogen as source gases.The influence of nitrogen content on the structure and electrical properties of the films was studied.The films were investigated in terms of surface morphology,microstructure,chemical composition and electrical properties.Atomic force microscopy(AFM)results revealed that the surface morphology of the films became smooth due to doping nitrogen.Fourier transform infrared absorption spectrometry(FTIR)results showed that amouts of C=N and C≡N bonds increased gradually with increasing nitrogen partial pressure r(r=p(N2)/p(N2+CF4+CH4)).Gaussian fit results of C 1s and N 1s in X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS)showed that the incorporation of nitrogen presented mainly in the forms ofβ-C3N4 and a-CNx(x=1,2,3)in the films.The current-voltage(I-V)measurement results showed that the electrical conductivity of the films increased with increasing nitrogen content.

Effect of Fe ion implantation on tribological properties and Raman spectra characteristics of diamond-like carbon film

Fe ions in the fluence range of 2×1015 to 1×1017 cm-2 were implanted into diamond-like carbon (DLC) thin film of 100 nm thick, which were deposited on silicon substrate by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Effects of Fe ion implantation on microstructure and friction coefficient of the DLC were studied. With increasing Fe ion fluence, friction coefficient of the DLC film increased as compared with that of DLC without implantation, and then decreased. The Raman spectra characteristics also show a dependence on the Fe ion fluence. With increasing the ion fluence, the sp2 bonding increased in the DLC film, resulting in the decrease of friction coefficient of the film af- ter implantation. Substantial surface roughness was also measured.

STUDY OF RAY IRRADIATION ON DIAMOND-LIKE CARBON FILMS

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films have been deposited on glass substrates usingradio-frequency (rf) plasma deposition method. Gamma -ray, ultraviolet (UV) ray were used toirradiate the DLC films. Raman spectroscopy and infrared (IR) spectroscopy were use to characterizethe changing characteristics of SP^3 C-H bond and hydrogen content in the films due to theirradiations. The results show that, the damage degrees induced by the UV ray on the SP^3 C-H bondsare much stronger than that by the gamma -ray. When the irradiation dose of gamma -ray reaches 1 OX10^4 Gy, the SP^3 C-H bond reduces about 50 percent in number. The square electrical resistance ofthe films is reduced due to the irradiation of UV ray and this is caused by severe oxidation of thefilms. By using the results on optical gap of the films and the fully constrained network theory,the hydrogen content in the as-deposited films is estimated to be l0-25at. percent.

Surface properties of diamond-like carbon films prepared by CVD and PVD methods

Diamond-like carbon （DLC） films have been deposited using three different techniques： （a） electron cyclotron resonance——plasma source ion implantation, （b） low-pressure dielectric barrier discharge, （c） filtered——pulsed cathodic arc discharge, The surface and mechanical properties of these films are compared using atomic force microscopebased tests. The experimental results show that hydrogenated DLC films are covered with soft surface layers enriched with hydrogen and sp^3 hybridized carbon while the soft surface layers of tetrahedral amorphous carbon （ta-C） films have graphite-like structure, The formation of soft surface layers can be associated with the surface diffusion and growth induced by the low-energy deposition process. For typical CVD methods, the atomic hydrogen in the plasmas can contribute to the formation of hydrogen and sp^3 hybridized carbon enriched surface layers, The high-energy ion implantation causes the rearrangement of atoms beneath the surface layer and leads to an increase in film density. The ta-C films can be deposited using the medium energy carbon ions in the highly-ionized plasma.

Structural characteristics of surface-functionalized nitrogen-doped diamond-like carbon films and effective adjustment to cell attachment

Nitrogen-doped diamond-like carbon （DLC：N） films prepared by the filtered cathodic vacuum arc technology are functionalized with various chemical molecules including dopamine （DA）, 3-Aminobenzeneboronic acid （APBA）, and adenosine triphosphate （ATP）, and the impacts of surface functionalities on the surface morphologies, compositions, microstructures, and cell compatibility of the DLC：N films are systematically investigated. We demonstrate that the surface groups of DLC：N have a significant effect on the surface and structural properties of the film. The activity of PC12 cells depends on the particular type of surface functional groups of DLC：N films regardless of surface roughness and wettability. Our research offers a novel way for designing functionalized carbon films as tailorable substrates for biosensors and biomedical engineering applications.

A Study of Diamond-Like Carbon Thin Films Prepared by Microwave Plasma Chemical Vapour Deposition

In order to deposit good films, we need to study the uniformity of plasma density and the plasma density under different gas pressures and powers. The plasma density was diagnosed by a Langmuir probe. The optical emission spectroscopy （OES） of CH4 and H2 discharge was obtained with raster spectroscopy, with characteristic peaks of H and CH achieved. Diamond-like carbon films were achieved based on the study of plasma density and OES and characterized by atomic force microscope （AFM）, X-ray diffraction instrument （XRD）, Raman spectroscope and profiler.

Mechanism of high growth rate for diamond-like carbon films synthesized by helicon wave plasma chemical vapor deposition

A high growth rate fabrication of diamond-like carbon（DLC）films at room temperature was achieved by helicon wave plasma chemical vapor deposition（HWP-CVD）using Ar/CH4gas mixtures.The microstructure and morphology of the films were characterized by Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy.The diagnosis of plasma excited by a helicon wave was measured by optical emission spectroscopy and a Langmuir probe.The mechanism of high growth rate fabrication for DLC films by HWP-CVD has been discussed.The growth rate of the DLC films reaches a maximum value of 54μm h^-1at the CH4flow rate of 85 sccm,which is attributed to the higher plasma density during the helicon wave plasma discharge.The CH and Hαradicals play an important role in the growth of DLC films.The results show that the Hαradicals are beneficial to the formation and stabilization of C=C bond from sp^2to sp^3.

Study of relationship between structure and transmittance of diamond-like carbon (DLC) films

In this paper, the transparent hard diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were deposited on glass substrate by magnetic confined radio-frequency plasma chemical vapor deposition. The structure of films was studied by Raman spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS), the transmittance of films by Spectrophotometer. The mechanism of the influence of films structure on transmittance of the films was discussed. The results show that the thickness of films was lower than 100nm, and the transmittance was over 90% in 380-780 nm region. Discussion in theory on the influence of film structure on transmittance was correspondence to experiment results.

Frictional and Optical Properties of Diamond-Like-Carbon Coatings on Polycarbonate

In this work, diamond-like-carbon （DLC） films were deposited onto polycarbonate （PC） substrates by radio-frequency plasma-enhanced cheraical vapor deposition （RF PECVD）, and silicon films were prepared between DLC and PC substrates by magnetron sputtering deposition so as to improve the adhesion of the DLC films. The deposited films were investigated by means of field-emission scanning electron microscopy （FE-SEM）, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） and Raman spectroscopy. Subsequently, the following frictional and optical properties of the films were measured： the friction coefficient by using a ball-on-disk tribometer, the scratch hardness by using a nano-indenter, the optical transmittance by using a UV/visible spectrometer. The effects of incident power upon the frictional and optical properties of the films were investigated. Films deposited at low incident powers showed large optical gaps, which decreased with increasing incident power. The optical properties of DLC films correlated to the sp^2 content of the coatings. High anti-scratch properties were obtained at higher values of incident power. The anti-scratch properties of DLC films correlated to the sp^3 content of the coatings.

Deposition of Diamond-Like Carbon on Inner Surface by Hollow Cathode Discharge

A cylindrical hollow cathode discharge （HCD） in CH4/Ar gas mixture at pressure of 20-30 Pa was used to deposit diamond-like carbon （DLC） films on the inner surface of a stainless steel tube. The characteristics of the HCD including the voltage-current curves, the plasma im- ages and the optical emission spectrum （OES） were measured in Ar and CHn/Ar mixtures. The properties of DLC films prepared under different conditions were analyzed by means of Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. The results show that the electron exci- tation temperature of HCD plasma is about 2400 K. DLC films can be deposited on the inner surface of tubes. The ratio of sp3/sp2 bonds decreases with the applied voltage and the deposition time. The optimizing CH4 content was found to be around CH4/Ar =1/5 for good quality of DLC films in the present system.

Optical Properties of Tetrahedral Amorphous Carbon Films and Their Potential for Lab-on-a-Chip

In this study, tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) films with thicknesses between several 100 nm and several micrometers have been deposited onto polished tungsten carbide and steel substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) using an excimer laser (248 nm wavelength). We investigate the optical properties (e.g. the refractive index (n) and extinction coefficient (k) in the visible and near-infrared wavelength range) of these layers in dependence of the used laser ablation fluence on the target. It is shown that n of ~2000 nm thick ta-C films can be tuned, depending on the sp3-content, between n = 2.5 and 2.8 at a wavelength of 632 nm. Besides of this k reduces with the sp3-content and is as low as 0.03 at sp3-contents of more than 75%. We proof that this gives the opportunity to prepare coating with tailored optical properties. Furthermore, it is shown that the ta-C films have low background fluorescence in the wavelengths range of 380 - 750 nm, which make this thin films attractive for certain optical, medical and biotechnological applications. We present for the first time that one possible application is the use in Lab-on-a-Chip-systems (LOC). Within these systems, the ultrasensitive detection of fluorescence markers and dyes is a challenge. In order to increase the signal-to-noise-ratio, a setup was developed, that used the specific optical properties of ta-C films produced by PLD. We used the ta-C film as an integrated reflector that combined low background fluorescence, a low reflectivity at the excitation wavelength and the high reflectivity at the emission wavelength. We prove that this setup improves the detection of fluorescence photons.

Luminescent Properties of Porous Si Passivated by Diamond Film and DLC Film

Surface passivation methods for porous Si (PS) surfaces, i.e., depositing diamond film or diamond-like carbon (DLC) film on PS surfaces, were attempted. Two emission bands, weak blue band and strong red band existed in the PL spectrum of diamond film coated on PS, were discovered by the photoluminescence measurements. The luminescent mechanism and stability were discussed. The results indicated that diamond film may stabilize the PL wavelength and intensity of PS, and therefore could become a promising passivation film of porous Si. The PL properties of PS coated by DLC films, including hydrogenated diamond like carbon (DLC:H) film and nitrogen doped DLC film (DLC:N) were also studied in this paper. The DLC films may stabilize the PL of PS, but the photoluminescent intensity was obviously weaker than that of diamond film coated PS.