Mid-frequency deposition of a-C:H films using five different precursors

The plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) of amorphous hydrogenated carbon films from pulsed discharges with frequencies in the range from 50 kHz to 250 kHz was investigated. Five different hydrocarbons (acetylene C₂H₂, isobutene C₄H₈, cyclopentene C₅H₈, toluene C₇H₈ and cycloheptatriene C₇H₈) were probed as film growth precursors. In addition, two types of pulse-generators with somewhat different waveforms were used to power the discharges in the so called mid-frequency range. The a-C:H films deposited in a parallel-plate reactor were characterised for their thickness/deposition rate, hardness and hydrogen content. The hydrogen concentration in the films varied between 19 at.-% and 37 at.-%. With the substrate temperature held constant, it is roughly in inverse proportion to the hardness. The film with the highest hardness of 25 GPa was formed at a deposition rate of 0.8 μm/h in the C₂H₂ discharge at the lowest investigated pressure of 2 Pa. With increasing molecular mass of the precursor mostly weaker films were deposited. Relatively high values of both deposition rate and hardness were achieved using the precursor isobutene: a hardness of 21 GPa combined with a deposition rate of 4.1 μm/h. From the probed precursors, isobutene is also most advantageous for a-C:H deposition at higher pressures (up to 50 Pa investigated). But, as an over-all trend, the a-C:H hardness decreases with increasing deposition rate.