Quantitative Analysis of Hydrogenated DLC Films by Visible Raman Spectroscopy

The correlations between properties of hydrogenated diamond like carbon films and their Raman spectra have been investigated. The films are prepared by plasma deposition technique, keeping different hydrogen to methane ratio during the growth process. The hydrogen concentration, sp$^3$ content, hardness and optical Tauc gap of the materials have been estimated from a detail analysis of their Raman spectra. We have also measured the same parameters of the films by using other commonly used techniques, like sp$^3$ content in films by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, their Tauc gap by ellipsometric measurements and hardness by micro-hardness testing. The reasons for the mismatch between the characteristics of the films, as obtained by Raman measurements and by the above mentioned techniques, have been discussed. We emphasize on the importance of the visible Raman spectroscopy in reliably predicting the above key properties of DLC films.