Carbon ion self–sputtering attained by sublimation of hot graphite target and controlled by pulse injection of a neon–helium gas mixture
At a Glance
Section titled “At a Glance”| Metadata | Details |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 2023-02-09 |
| Journal | Applied Surface Science |
| Authors | Bartosz Wicher, Rafał Choduń, Grzegorz Greczyński, A. Lachowski, Marek Trzciński |
| Institutions | Thinfilm (Sweden), Linköping University |
| Citations | 9 |
Abstract
Section titled “Abstract”The operation of graphite targets with an increased temperature (HT - hot target) is studied for the case of gas injection magnetron sputtering (GIMS) of: 1) diamond-like carbon (DLC), and 2) carbon-silicon carbide (C-SiC) films. A purposely-thinned graphite target with a reduced thermal conductivity is applied for DLC deposition, extending its high temperature sputtering range up to 1636 degrees C. For the purpose of C-SiC synthesis four sockets with a silicon carbide powder are designed within graphite target. In this approach, the C-SiC target surface can be heated up to 1443 degrees C due to a greater energy input from impulse plasma, in the range 322-932 J. The HT sputtering is energy-controlled by a pulsed injection of a neon-helium gas mixture. High-energy Ne+ and He+ ions extend the length of pulsed GIMS discharge due to the self-sputtering effect observed during the deposition of DLC and C-SiC films. These conditions result in an almost 5-fold increase in the film growth rate (up to 185 nm/min) with respect to the operation with a cold target, which is due to the assisting vapour sublimation from custom-designed graphite-based targets. The temperature boosted HT GIMS discharge, proves to be an efficient tool for reaching relatively high (similar to 35 %) sp(3)-hybridized C content in both carbon-based materials. It also allows for tailoring the energy bandgap of DLC-based optical structure, in the range from 1.7 to 2.75 eV, due to the formation of the (C-C) and (C-O) bonds. Higher content of silicon oxide (SiO2-x) and silicon carbide (SiC) phases (15 - 23 %) in the case of C-SiC films results in hardness increase from 21.8 to 30.1 GPa.
Tech Support
Section titled “Tech Support”Original Source
Section titled “Original Source”References
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