Laser assisted chemical vapour deposition of hydrogen containing amorphous carbon at room temperature

Hydrogen containing amorphous carbon films were deposited by photolytic decomposition of methylene iodide, CH2I2, at room temperature. An excimer laser operated at 193 nm was used as the excitation source. Smooth and adherent films were produced on Si(100) substrates. The influence of the CH2I2 partial pressure and the laser beam to substrate distance on the growth process was investigated. The films were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The iodine and oxygen contents in the carbon films were less than 1% and the hydrogen content was approximately 50%.