Optical and electrical properties of N-DLC films deposited by atmospheric pressure DBD plasma: Effect of deposition time

In this study, at atmospheric pressure, a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma was used to deposit the diamond-like carbon film doped by nitrogen atoms (N-DLC) on a glass substrate. The nitrogen gas was sent to the n-hexane container by bubbling technique and finally, n-hexane/ nitrogen vapor was guided to the plasma gap. The composition and the structure of the deposited films were studied by FTIR and Raman spectra and EDX analysis. The effect of deposition time on optical, electrical, and mechanical properties of coated films was investigated. Changes in N-DLC film characteristics were assigned to the decreased hydrogen participation rate during the growth process and increasing both sp(2) cluster size and sp(2) content. The surface morphology of films was analyzed by FESEM and AFM assay.