Modification of diamond-like carbon films by nitrogen incorporation via plasma immersion ion implantation

The addition of nitrogen to diamond-like carbon films affects properties such as the inner stress of the film, the conductivity, biocompatibility and wettability. The nitrogen content is limited, though, and the maximum concentration depends on the preparation method. Here, plasma immersion ion implantation was used for the deposition of the films, without the use of a separate plasma source, i.e. the plasma was generated by a high voltage applied to the samples. The plasma gas consisted of a mixture of C2H4 and N2, the substrates were silicon and glass. By changing the experimental parameters (high voltage, pulse length and repetition rate and gas flow ratio) layers with different N content were prepared. Additionally, some samples were prepared using a DC voltage. The nitrogen content and bonding was investigated with SIMS, AES, XPS, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. Their influence on the electrical resistivity of the films was investigated. Depending on the preparation conditions different nitrogen contents were realized with maximum contents around 11 at.%. Those values were compared with the nitrogen concentration that can be achieved by implantation of nitrogen into a DLC film.