Structural characteristics of diamond-like nanocomposite films grown by PECVD

Diamond-like nanocomposite (DLN) films have been deposited on Si substrates using CH4/(C2H5O)(4)Si/H-2/Ar gas mixtures as source gases by conventional plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). The film structure was investigated by transmission electron microscope (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR) and Raman spectrometry. The DLN films deposited mainly consisted of diamond-like a-C:H and quartz-like a-Si:O networks. The mechanical and tribological properties as well as microstructural modifications of the grown films were investigated. In order to understand the characteristics of DLN films, the diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were also prepared using CH4/H-2 gases by the same deposition process. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.