Carbon occupancy of interstitial sites in vanadium carbide films deposited by direct current reactive magnetron sputtering

• Published in: Thin solid films Vol. 517; no. 24; pp. 6493 - 6496
• Main Authors: Portolan, E., Amorim, C.L.G., Soares, G.V., Aguzzoli, C., Perottoni, C.A., Baumvol, I.J.R., Figueroa, C.A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 30-10-2009; Elsevier
• Subjects: Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Deposition by sputtering; Diffusion; interface formation; Exact sciences and technology; Interstitial carbon; Materials science; Methods of deposition of films and coatings; film growth and epitaxy; Phase transition; Physics; Reactive magnetron sputtering; Solid surfaces and solid-solid interfaces; Structure and morphology; thickness; Surfaces and interfaces; thin films and whiskers (structure and nonelectronic properties); Thin film structure and morphology; Vanadium carbide; Reactive magnetron sputtering; Vanadium carbide; Interstitial carbon; Phase transition; Methane; Temperature dependence; RBS; XRD; Carbon; Layer thickness; Phase transitions; Thin films; Cathode sputtering; Partial pressure; Physical vapor deposition; Reactive sputtering; Diffusion; Sputter deposition; Crystal structure
• ISSN: 0040-6090; 1879-2731
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2009.03.202

Vanadium carbide thin films were deposited on Si substrates by direct current reactive magnetron sputtering from a V target in Ar/CH
4 plasma, varying the Ar/CH
4 partial pressure ratio and substrate temperature. The films were characterized by glancing angle X-ray diffraction and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. Well defined crystalline structures were obtained for CH
4 content higher than 13%. The increase of substrate temperature during deposition diminishes the film thickness slightly while diminishing substantially the C/V atomic ratio. The intensity ratio of the Bragg peaks (111)/(200) decreases for increasing substrate temperature. This result is discussed in terms of a proposed mechanism for interstitial diffusion of carbon atoms in vanadium carbide thin films with fcc-like crystalline structure and the temperature dependence of carbon occupancy of tetrahedral or octahedral interstitial sites.