OES monitoring of sequential deposition of C/W layers by PECVD/magnetron sputtering techniques

An innovative sequential plasma deposition method suitable for deposition of carbon/metal nanocomposite or multilayer films is presented. The method is based on cyclic exposure of a substrate, for predefined time intervals, to two totally independent plasma deposition sources, working in alternative sequences: magnetron sputtering (MS) for metal deposition and Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) for hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) deposition. This paper presents a study of the a-C:H/W nanocomposite deposition method by optical emission spectroscopy (OES), focusing on identifying the useful wavelengths for optical monitoring of the process. On the basis of optical monitoring, the optimal pumping out and precursor gas admission conditions are established.