The relationship between structure and mechanical properties of hydrogenated amorphous carbon films
Publikation aus Materials
Kahn M., Paskvale S., Cekada M., Schöberl T., Waldhauser W., Mitterer C., Brandstätter E., Pelicon P.
Diamond and Related Materials 19 (10), pp. 1245-1248, 2010
There is increasing interest in the relations between Raman fit parameters and the mechanical properties of diamond-like carbon films. The present work describes these relations in hydrogenated diamond-like carbon films (a-C:H) deposited by an ion beam source operated at varied discharge voltages, i.e. kinetic carbon species energies. A number of highly distinct relations between Raman fit parameters and mechanical properties are identified for the a-C:H films investigated. For example the nanohardness (H) and reduced elastic modulus (E) increase almost linearly with an increase in full width at half maximum of the G-band (FWHM (G)). The film elasticity, expressed as H3/E2 increases with increasing FWHM (G). In addition, H and E increase linearly with decreasing intensity ratio of the D-band and the G-band (ID/IG). H and E also increase with the G-band dispersion (Disp. (G)), i.e. the rate of change of the G-band position vs. excitation energy. Hydrogen contents in all films are approximately equal and range from 21.2 to 23.5 at.% over the entire set of investigated samples