Properties and deposition processes of a-C: H films from CH4/Ar dielectric barrier discharge plasmas

Hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C: H) films were deposited from CH4+ Ar gas with low-pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasmas. The deposition rate, film hardness and surface roughness were examined as a function of Ar concentration in CH4+ Ar. The experimental results revealed that both film hardness and surface roughness increase with increasing Ar concentration from 20% to 67%, and then decrease for Ar concentration exceeding 67%. Also, the deposition rate decreases monotonously with increasing Ar concentration. The high ratio of Ar+ flux per hydrocarbon species for the cases of Ar concentration exceeding 67% leaded to the decrease in growth rate and in surface roughness. CH4+ and Ar+ kinetic energies during the film deposition process were also analyzed theoretically based on ion drift-diffuse model. The theoretical analysis on ion kinetic energy indicated that the deposition of dense a-C: H film is proportional to an increase in kinetic energy of the hydrocarbon ion and the sputter of energetic Ar+ ions.