Microraman and microhardness study of nitrogen implanted diamond-like carbon films

• Published in: Carbon (New York) 1998, Vol.36 (5), p.791-794
• Main Authors: Artamonov, V.V., Klyui, N.I., Melnik, V.P., Romanyuk, B.N., Valakh, M.Ya, Vasilik, O., Semenovich, V.A., Pérez-Rodríguez, A., Morante, J.R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: A. Diamond-like carbon; C. Raman scattering; Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Defects and impurities: doping, implantation, distribution, concentration, etc; Exact sciences and technology; Physics; Surfaces and interfaces; thin films and whiskers (structure and nonelectronic properties); Thin film structure and morphology
• ISSN: 0008-6223; 1873-3891
• DOI: 10.1016/S0097-8493(98)80016-X

Amorphous carbon films grown by PE-chemical vapour deposition have been implanted with nitrogen ions at room temperature, with an energy of 150 keV and doses up to 1 × 10 17 cm −2. After implantation, the implanted region of the layers show structural inhomogeneities with sizes of approximately 100 μm. The different regions in the layers (implanted and not implanted) have been analysed by Raman scattering and Microhardness measurements. The results obtained show that the film hardness in the inhomogeneous region exceeds approximately five times the hardness of the implanted region without inhomogeneities. This effect is related to the ion beam induced compaction of the film and to a structural transformation in the inhomogeneous region, as suggested by MicroRaman measurements. The appearance of the inhomogeneities with the implantation is likely to be related to the existence of local mechanical strains in the film.