Electrical properties of textured carbon film formed by pulsed laser annealing

Previous works have showed that textured carbon film can be fabricated by applying suitable ion energy and substrate temperature. In this experiment, the effect of laser annealing on amorphous carbon films was studied. Atomic force microscopy shows the effect of laser irradiation on surface morphology of carbon film, and visible Raman spectroscopy shows that the G peak position shifted from 1540 cm− 1 to 1600 cm− 1, and the increase in I(D)/I(G) intensity ratio indicates the formation of more graphitic film at higher laser energy. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) shows the vertical alignment formation at suitable laser energy. Electrical measurement shows that the vertical aligned carbon films exhibit low resistance, ohmic current–voltage characteristics, which suggests that vertical aligned films formed by laser irradiation may be promising material for future nano-device interconnects.

► We fabricate textured carbon (a-C) film using KrF excimer laser annealing method. ► We study its microstructure using visible Raman and transmission electron microscopy. ► Suitable laser energy density will induce the texture structure in a-C film. ► The presence of texture structure will increase the electrical conductivity of the film.