Structural properties of amorphous silicon-carbon films deposited by the filtered cathodic vacuum arc technique

Amorphous silicon-carbon films have been successfully deposited by the filtered cathodic vacuum arc technique. The silicon concentration in the films determined by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurement varies from 2.4 to 55 at.%. The structural properties of the films were investigated by using atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and x-ray diffraction. All of the films have smooth surface morphology with RMS roughness below 0.6 nm. Both Raman spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction show the existence of silicon carbide clusters in the films with silicon contents between 42 and 48 at.%. The G-peak position of the carbon cluster is shifted to very much lower values of the Raman shift with increasing silicon content. The silicon atoms predominantly substitute for the carbon atoms in the carbon cluster at low silicon content, and form amorphous silicon carbide clusters or amorphous silicon clusters at high silicon content.