The study of adaptable amorphous carbon films deposited on As40Se60 glass

The adaptable amorphous carbon films were deposited on As40Se60 glass by radio frequency magnetron sputtering method (rf MS). The effect of CH4 flow rate (0 sccm to 20 sccm) on the structural, optical and mechanical properties of films was investigated by Raman Spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), UV-vis spectrophotometer, Fourier Transformed Spectroscopy and Continuous Stiffness Measurement. The results reveal that the radical ions and neutrals decomposed from CH4 precursor transform fused aromatic rings clusters of amorphous carbon films to olefinic chains clusters, promote the CH sp3 structure and transforms the amorphous carbon films from diamond-like carbon (DLC) structure to highly hydrogenated graphite-like amorphous carbon (GLCHH) structure. GLCHH films show high visible transmittance, wide optical gap (Eg = 3.30 eV, 20 sccm), well infrared antireflection ability, relative high nanohardness (3.61 GPa, 5 sccm), high ERP (72.5%, 5 sccm), high H/E (0.15, 5 sccm), low residual stress (0.20 GPa, 20 sccm) and well adhesion on As40Se60 glass. Meanwhile, the deposition temperature of GLCHH films (≤115 °C) is much lower than the transition temperature (185 ± 5 °C) of As40Se60 glass, which can minimize the thermal deformation of optical lens made from As40Se60 glass.