Amorphous silicon carbide thin films deposited by magnetron co-sputtering: Effect of applied power and deposition pressure on film characteristics

Abstract

In this work, the effect of deposition pressure and total power applied to Si and C targets on the a-SiC film characteristics was investigated by profilometry, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, and Rutherford-Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS). Profilometry results indicate an increase in the film thickness by increasing both the deposition pressure and total power. Both Crich and Si-rich a-SiC films were grown only by varying the deposition pressure or total power. Raman spectra suggest that the films contain amorphous phases because a-SiC clusters together with a-Si and a-C clusters were observed. The XRD analysis confirmed the amorphous structure of these films. © The Electrochemical Society.