Effects of Different Silicon Substrates on the Structure and Properties of Deposited Diamond‐like Carbon Films

Abstract

Diamond‐like carbon (DLC) has attracted much attention due to its unique properties such as excellent physicochemical and biological properties. Herein, DLC coatings are deposited on four different silicon substrates using a radio frequency plasma‐assisted chemical vapor deposition (RF‐PECVD) technique. The structure and mechanical properties of DLC coatings deposited on different types of silicon substrates under different powers are compared. The surface morphology of the samples is characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The surface roughness of DLC films deposited on different silicon substrates is measured by scanning probe microscopy (SPM). The structural changes of the coatings are investigated by visible Raman spectroscopy. The analysis of DLC films deposited on different silicon substrates reveals that the structure of DLC films deposited on silicon is affected by different crystal directions of silicon substrates (different atomic densities in different crystal directions) and different conduction modes (electronic conduction and hole conduction). Regarding the DLC films deposited on the same substrate, the overall performance of P‐type silicon is better at 150 W, and the overall performance of N‐type silicon is better when the deposition power is 100 W.