Cathodoluminescence of fluorine doped amorphous carbon nanoparticles deposited by a filtered cathodic arc plasma system

The fluorine doped amorphous carbon nanoparticles (a-C:F NPs) films with sizes 50–100 nm were deposited on polyethylene terephthalate in an atmosphere of CF4 by a 90°-bend magnetic filtered cathodic arc plasma system. The surface morphology of a-C:F NPs films was observed by field emission scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscope. The microstructure and chemical bonding nature of the a-C:F NPs films were investigated by Raman, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. This work presents cathodoluminescence (CL) spectra of a-C:F NPs films obtained at 1.9–2.4 eV and verifies luminescence from a-C:F NPs films in the visible region. The incorporation of fluorine into the carbon network results in orange emission (∼2.03 eV) due to the transitions between fluorine-related electron levels and σ* states, and the red emission (∼1.97 eV) results from the recombination of carriers in the valence π and conduction π* states. The peak at ∼2.10 eV may result from the defects of the structures in a-C:F NPs films.