Structure and properties of phosphorus-carbide thin solid films

•Phosphorus-carbide (CPx) thin solid films have been deposited by magnetron sputtering.•Structural and chemical bonding properties were investigated.•CPx thin solid films show high mechanical resiliency.•Low temperature favors fullerene-like structural properties.

Phosphorus-carbide (CPx) thin solid films have been deposited by unbalanced reactive magnetron sputtering from a compound C-P target and investigated by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, elastic recoil detection analysis, Raman scattering spectroscopy, nanoindentation, and four-point electrical probe techniques. CPx films with x = 0.1 deposited at 300 °C exhibit a structure with elements of short-range ordering in the form of curved and inter-locked fullerene-like fragments. The films have a hardness of 34.4 GPa, elastic recovery of 72% and surface roughness of 0.5 nm. Higher deposition temperatures yield CPx films with an increasingly amorphous structure, and reduced hardness.