Optical and Electrical Properties Evolution of Diamond-Like Carbon Thin Films with Deposition Temperature

Optical and electrical properties of diamond-like carbon (DLC) films deposited by pulsed laser ablation of graphite target at different substrate temperatures are reported. By varying the deposition temperature from 400 to 25°C, the film optical transparency and electrical resistivity increase severely. Most importantly, the transparency and resistivity properties of the DLC films can be tailored to approaching diamond by adjusting the deposition temperature, which is critical to many applications. DLC films deposited at low temperatures show excellent optical transmittance and high resistivity. Over the same temperature regime an increase of the sp³ bonded C content is observed using visible Raman spectroscopy, which is responsible for the enhanced transparency and resistivity properties