THERMAL-STABILITY OF MAGNETRON-SPUTTERED LOW HYDROGEN CONTENT DIAMOND-LIKE CARBON

Response to vacuum annealing at temperatures up to 600-degrees-C for 3h for low hydrogen content diamondlike carbon (LHDLC) films prepared by magnetron sputtering of pure graphite in pure Ar atmosphere has been studied. Optical properties of the as-deposited and annealed films have been characterized by ellipsometry and infrared spectroscopy. No change was found for the films annealed at up to 400-degrees-C. The LHDLC begins losing hydrogen after annealing above 400-degrees-C and the sp2 hybrid structure increases. The refractive index of the films increases with increasing annealing temperatures above 500-degrees-C. Annealing at 600-degrees-C results in graphitization and the loss of IR transparency.