Chemical structure of silicon-, oxygen- and nitrogen-containing a-C:H films prepared by RF plasma beam CVD

Compared to the composition of the precursors, significant loss of C for each layer and some loss of N for the DLCSiN layers were obtained, while the O/Si ratios for the DLCSiO layers remained practically unaltered. The modified Auger parameter of Si (Si α) decreased with increasing oxygen content and increased with increasing N content for the DLCSiO and DLCSiN layers. Si α was proposed to reflect the degree of crosslinking. For the DLCSiO and DLCSiN layers Si α could be altered by the deposition conditions (self-bias). The appearance of Si-O bonds was inferred from the valence band analysis of an Ar+ ion bombarded DLCSi layer containing O-contamination.