Compositional and structural properties of amorphous Si<i>x</i>C1−<i>x</i> : H alloys prepared by reactive sputtering

Abstract

Amorphous SixC1−x : H alloys are prepared by simultaneous rf reactive sputtering of silicon and graphite in a H2-Ar gas mixture. Silicon, carbon, and hydrogen contents are measured for the entire range of x by electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA), Rutherford-backscattering method, and thermal evolution of hydrogen. Evolution temperature dependence of the number of evolved hydrogen atoms is measured. The hydrogen-evolution behavior and the optical gap are x dependent. These phenomena are discussed in the light of chemical-bonding states.