Amorphous Carbon Thin Films Deposited on Si and PET: Study of Interface States

Thin carbon films with various thicknesses, deposited on different substrates (Si and poly-ethylene-terephthalate) at the same operating conditions in a radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition system were characterized by Doppler broadening spectroscopy. The films and the substrates were depth profiled by a slow positron beam. The aim of these measurements was to study the open volume structure and the interface of the films. It was found that, independently from the substrate, the films were homogeneous and exhibited the same open volume distribution. On the contrary, the effective positron diffusion length in the Si substrate was found to change with the thickness of the carbon films. This behaviour was interpreted as a change in the electric field at the carbon/silicon interface.