Thermal stability and diffusion characteristics of ultrathin amorphous carbon films grown on crystalline and nitrogenated silicon substrates by filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition

Abstract Amorphous carbon (a-C) films are widely used as protective overcoats in many technology sectors, principally due to their excellent thermophysical properties and chemical inertness. The growth and thermal stability of sub-5-nm-thick a-C films synthesized by filtered cathodic vacuum arc on p...

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Autores principales:	Shengxi Wang, Anurag Roy, Kyriakos Komvopoulos
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/a3d1ef24f4fc415faf759973ee92fbff
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:a3d1ef24f4fc415faf759973ee92fbff2021-12-02T18:02:55ZThermal stability and diffusion characteristics of ultrathin amorphous carbon films grown on crystalline and nitrogenated silicon substrates by filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition10.1038/s41598-021-91903-y2045-2322https://doaj.org/article/a3d1ef24f4fc415faf759973ee92fbff2021-06-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-91903-yhttps://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Amorphous carbon (a-C) films are widely used as protective overcoats in many technology sectors, principally due to their excellent thermophysical properties and chemical inertness. The growth and thermal stability of sub-5-nm-thick a-C films synthesized by filtered cathodic vacuum arc on pure (crystalline) and nitrogenated (amorphous) silicon substrate surfaces were investigated in this study. Samples of a-C/Si and a-C/SiNx/Si stacks were thermally annealed for various durations and subsequently characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). The TEM images confirmed the continuity and uniformity of the a-C films and the 5-nm-thick SiNx underlayer formed by silicon nitrogenation using radio-frequency sputtering. The EELS analysis of cross-sectional samples revealed the thermal stability of the a-C films and the efficacy of the SiNx underlayer to prevent carbon migration into the silicon substrate, even after prolonged heating. The obtained results provide insight into the important attributes of an underlayer in heated multilayered media for preventing elemental intermixing with the substrate, while preserving the structural stability of the a-C film at the stack surface. An important contribution of this investigation is the establishment of an experimental framework for accurately assessing the thermal stability and elemental diffusion in layered microstructures exposed to elevated temperatures.Shengxi WangAnurag RoyKyriakos KomvopoulosNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-11 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Shengxi Wang Anurag Roy Kyriakos Komvopoulos Thermal stability and diffusion characteristics of ultrathin amorphous carbon films grown on crystalline and nitrogenated silicon substrates by filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition
description	Abstract Amorphous carbon (a-C) films are widely used as protective overcoats in many technology sectors, principally due to their excellent thermophysical properties and chemical inertness. The growth and thermal stability of sub-5-nm-thick a-C films synthesized by filtered cathodic vacuum arc on pure (crystalline) and nitrogenated (amorphous) silicon substrate surfaces were investigated in this study. Samples of a-C/Si and a-C/SiNx/Si stacks were thermally annealed for various durations and subsequently characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). The TEM images confirmed the continuity and uniformity of the a-C films and the 5-nm-thick SiNx underlayer formed by silicon nitrogenation using radio-frequency sputtering. The EELS analysis of cross-sectional samples revealed the thermal stability of the a-C films and the efficacy of the SiNx underlayer to prevent carbon migration into the silicon substrate, even after prolonged heating. The obtained results provide insight into the important attributes of an underlayer in heated multilayered media for preventing elemental intermixing with the substrate, while preserving the structural stability of the a-C film at the stack surface. An important contribution of this investigation is the establishment of an experimental framework for accurately assessing the thermal stability and elemental diffusion in layered microstructures exposed to elevated temperatures.
format	article
author	Shengxi Wang Anurag Roy Kyriakos Komvopoulos
author_facet	Shengxi Wang Anurag Roy Kyriakos Komvopoulos
author_sort	Shengxi Wang
title	Thermal stability and diffusion characteristics of ultrathin amorphous carbon films grown on crystalline and nitrogenated silicon substrates by filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition
title_short	Thermal stability and diffusion characteristics of ultrathin amorphous carbon films grown on crystalline and nitrogenated silicon substrates by filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition
title_full	Thermal stability and diffusion characteristics of ultrathin amorphous carbon films grown on crystalline and nitrogenated silicon substrates by filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition
title_fullStr	Thermal stability and diffusion characteristics of ultrathin amorphous carbon films grown on crystalline and nitrogenated silicon substrates by filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition
title_full_unstemmed	Thermal stability and diffusion characteristics of ultrathin amorphous carbon films grown on crystalline and nitrogenated silicon substrates by filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition
title_sort	thermal stability and diffusion characteristics of ultrathin amorphous carbon films grown on crystalline and nitrogenated silicon substrates by filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/a3d1ef24f4fc415faf759973ee92fbff
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_version_	1718378827657248768

Thermal stability and diffusion characteristics of ultrathin amorphous carbon films grown on crystalline and nitrogenated silicon substrates by filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition

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