Emission Properties from Induced Structural Degradation of a-C:H Thin Film

Hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) films were deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition on silicon substrates. a-C:H thin film was irradiated to a typical He-Cd laser to study its emitting properties. The photoluminescence (PL) intensity during the irradiation achieved a maximum value when 2,000 seconds elapsed. Fourier transform infrared measurement revealed a-C:H thin film suffered transformation from a polymer-like to graphite-like phase during laser irradiation. Thermal annealing was done at various temperatures, ranging from room temperature to in the atmosphere, to investigate structural changes in a-C:H film by heat generation during the emission. PL intensity of a-C:H thin film increased 1.5 times without apparent structural change, as annealing temperature increased up to . However, a-C:H film above exhibited significant decrease of PL accompanying dehydrogenation. This led to a red shift of the PL peak.