Effect of various adsorbates on electronic states of the thin diamond-like carbon films

The influence of the adsorbed impurity molecules onto energy spectrum of electronic states of the DLC films deposited on SiO₂/Si substrates by direct ion beam from hydrocarbon IC plasma was studied by charge-based deep level transient spectroscopy (Q-DLTS). The strong sensitivity of Q-DLTS spectra to the presence of the vapor water and alcohol at room temperature was found. The principle is that adsorption of any molecules on the surface of the DLC film results in a change of energy spectrum of the electronic states (or trapping centers) at the DLC film surface. For example, a new peak appeared in Q-DLTS spectra in presence of the vapor water and electron state density increased in several orders. Moreover, the effect of different adsorbed molecules (species) on the surface electron states was different and independent, so that different molecules can be detected separately. It was shown to differentiate a few thousand molecules of virtually any impurity adsorbed by DLC film's surface. Such strong surface phenomena of the thin DLC films may be exploited in novel sensitive and selective chemical sensor devices.