Redeposition of amorphous hydrogenated carbon films during thermal decomposition

Thermally induced decomposition of hard and soft amorphous hydrocarbon films was investigated by thermal effusion spectroscopy. Released species were detected by a sensitive quadrupole mass spectrometer using two different experimental setups for thermal effusion. Species released in a molecular beam setup were detected in direct line of sight to the sample surface, while species released in a remote UHV oven had no direct line of sight to the mass spectrometer. Soft, hydrogen-rich carbon films exhibit a desorption maximum at T ≈ 740 K while hard films with a low hydrogen content have their maximum at T ≈ 870 K. Additionally, the spectrum of released species differs dramatically between hard and soft films. We found a significant redeposition of species released from soft films. From the redeposited fraction of material we estimated an average redeposition probability of about 50% for species released from soft films.