Amorphous Diamond Films Deposited by Pulsed-Laser Ablation: the Optimum Carbon-Ion Kinetic Energy and Effects of Laser Wavelength

Abstract

AbstractA systematic study has been made of changes in the bonding and optical properties of hydrogen-free tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) films, as a function of the kinetic energy of the incident carbon ions measured under film-deposition conditions. Ion probe measurements of the carbon ion kinetic energies produced by ArF and KrF laser ablation of graphite are compared under identical beam-focusing conditions. Much higher C+ kinetic energies are produced by ArF-laser ablation than by KrF for any given fluence and spot size. Electron energy loss spectroscopy and scanning ellipsometry measurements of the sp3 bonding fraction, plasmon energy, and optical properties reveal a well-defined optimum kinetic energy of 90 eV to deposit ta-C films having the largest sp3 fraction and the widest optical (Tauc) energy gap (equivalent to minimum near-gap optical absorption). Tapping-mode atomic force microscope measurements show that films deposited at near-optimum kinetic energy are extremely smooth, with rms roughness of only ~ 1 Å over distances of several hundred nm, and are relatively free of particulates.