Physical and electrical properties of nitrogen-doped hydrogenated amorphous carbon films

Nitrogen-doped hydrogenated amorphous carbon films (a-C:H:N) have been prepared by a plasma-activated chemical vapor deposition technique (PACVD) by using a plasma beam source (PBS). The properties of the a-C:H:N films were changed by varying the total pressure, the substrate temperature (100 °C, 300 °C) and nitrogen partial pressure p(N₂) by adding nitrogen to the precursor acetylene (C₂H₂). For the investigations, a-C:H:N films have been deposited onto glass slides and doped silicon wafers. The deposition rate decreased with increasing nitrogen content in the N₂/C₂H₂ gas mixture and with decreasing total pressure. The elemental composition of two sample series (300 °C) has been analyzed with Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis (ERDA). The highest N content and N/C ratio was estimated to be 16 at.% and 0.25 at the highest p(N₂), respectively. Microhardness measurements showed that the hardness decreased with increasing p(N₂). Electrical resistance of the a-C:H:N films was measured by 4-point probe. Electrically conductive coatings have been obtained by nitrogen-doped a-C:H films at higher substrate temperature (300 °C). The electrical resistance of the a-C:H:N films also decreases with ecreasing total pressure, with the lowest value being about 1 Ohm cm. The film density was determined by means of X-ray reflectometry (XRR).