Characterization of SiC in DLC/a-Si films prepared by pulsed filtered cathodic arc using Raman spectroscopy and XPS

DLC/a-Si films were deposited on germanium substrates. a-Si film was initially deposited as a seed layer on the substrate using DC magnetron sputtering. DLC film was then deposited on the a-Si layer via a pulsed filtered cathodic arc (PFCA) system. In situ ellipsometry was used to monitor the thicknesses of the growth films, allowing a precise control over the a-Si and DLC thicknesses of 6 and 9 nm, respectively. It was found that carbon atoms implanting on a-Si layer act not only as a carbon source for DLC formation, but also as a source for SiC formation. The Raman peak positions at 796 cm−1 and 972 cm−1 corresponded to the LO and TO phonon modes of SiC, respectively, were observed. The results were also confirmed using TEM, XPS binding energy and XPS depth profile analysis.