GROWTH-MECHANISM OF DIAMOND-LIKE AMORPHOUS-CARBON FILMS

In situ optical emission spectra (OES) have proven to be an important diagnostic tool for monitoring the deposition process of diamond-like hydrogenated amorphous carbon (DL a-C:H) films from rf discharge decomposition of CH4 + Ar. The film deposition rate depends on the processing parameters, especially the self-bias between the electrodes. For our system, diamond-like hydrogenated amorphous carbon film growth is governed by a balance between the deposition and etching process. The implications of the results for the plasma and surface chemistry are discussed.