RIR MAPLE procedure for deposition of carbon rich Si/C/H films

We applied the resonant infrared matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation (RIR MAPLE) technique to demonstrate a new approach to a controlled deposition of carbon rich amorphous Si/C/H film. In absence of radicals and accelerated species commonly generated in PECVD and sputtering setups, the RIR MAPLE method does not decompose precursor molecules. Moreover, unlike the standard MAPLE procedure, in which solvent molecules absorb laser energy from excimer or near infrared lasers, we applied the pulsed TEA CO2 laser to excite the dendrimer precursor molecules in a frozen target. In this manner we achieved just cross-linking of the starting precursor on substrates and the deposition of carbon rich Si/C/H film. The film was analyzed by Fourier Transformed Infrared (FTIR), UV/VIS, Raman and X-ray Photoelectron (XPS) spectroscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) technique. According to analyses the film retained the precursor elemental composition free of graphitic (sp2) clusters. In course of reaction only the peripheral allyl groups containing C=C bonds were opened to achieve cross-linking. Whereas annealing to 300 °C was necessary for the elimination of =C-H1, 2 bonds in the films prepared at 200 °C, those bonds vanished completely for the films prepared at substrate temperature 255 °C. The film posseses a smooth surface with root mean square (RMS) parameter up to 10 nm within scanned distance 2.5 μm.