A study of diamond thin film and diamondlike carbon film deposition using electron cyclotron resonance microwave discharges

The electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma is very useful for thin film technologies since it enables: (1) generation of a very dense plasma with n{dollar}sb{lcub}rm e{rcub}{dollar} {dollar}>{dollar} 10{dollar}sp{lcub}11{rcub}{dollar}/cm{dollar}sp3{dollar} at f = 2.45 GHz; (2) generation of a highly ionized plasma (ionization degree {dollar}>{dollar} 1%); (3) generation of a plasma in the low pressure regime (10{dollar}sp{lcub}-4{rcub}{dollar} - 10{dollar}sp{lcub}-2{rcub}{dollar} Torr); (4) generation of a radically homogeneous plasma column with large diameters; and (5) acceleration of the plasma in an inhomogeneous magnetic field.; A large variety of deposition techniques have been used to prepare diamond thin films and diamondlike carbon (DLC) films. ECR plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition (PACVD) is a new technique currently receiving much interest. The ECR plasma system offers a more complex parameter space than the more conventional PACVD processes. These include magnetic confinement of the plasma, independent source control over the dissociation of reaction gases, independent substrate bias of DC or RF voltage, independent substrate temperature control, downstream plasma operation and the magnetic mirror configuration which allows for the extraction of specific ion energies from the plasma chamber.; In this work we have set up an ECR plasma-assisted materials processing system. A Lisitano coil is used to effectively couple microwave energy into the plasma, and a divergent magnetic field configuration is used to push the plasma out of the Lisitano coil. Langmuir probe measurements and optical emission spectroscopy were performed to characterize the ECR plasma.; We have deposited hard DLC films on silicon substrates using this ECR plasma system. The deposition was operated at a {dollar}-{dollar}200 V DC bias, substrate temperature T = 200{dollar}spcirc{dollar}C, pressure P= 5*10{dollar}sp{lcub}-4{rcub}{dollar} Torr using CH{dollar}sb4{dollar} as the reaction gas. The diamond thin film deposition using ECR PACVD technique has produced some initial results. Further studies into the effects of dense ion flux in the ECR plasma on diamond formation is needed.