Determination of the infrared proportionality coefficient of the CHn stretching mode for a-C:H and a-SiC:H films using ERD methods

Abstract The proportionality coefficient between hydrogen concentration and the integrated intensities of the infrared reflection-absorption spectrum (IRAS) for CH n bonds was determined in hydrogenated amorphous carbon films (a-C:H) and hydrogenated silicon carbide films (a-SiC: H). The hydrogen concentration in the films was measured by using elastic recoil detection (ERD) analysis. Since the absorption strength of the CH n band strongly depends on the chemical structure of the films, the proportionality coefficients were obtained by the band separation of the IR spectrum as A (CH) = 3.85 × 10 21 atoms/cm 2 , A (CH 2 ) = 3.85 × 10 20 atoms/cm 2 and A (CH 3 ) = 3.65 × 10 20 atoms/cm 2 . These values can be applicable universally to a-C:H and a-SiC:H films.