An investigation on the effect of high partial pressure of hydrogen on the nanocrystalline structure of silicon carbide thin films prepared by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering.

The aim of the study reported in this paper is to investigate the role of the high partial pressure of hydrogen introduced during the growth of nanocrystalline silicon carbide thin films (nc-SiC:H). For this purpose, we report the preparation as well as spectroscopic studies of four series of nc-SiC:H obtained by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering at high partial pressure of hydrogen by varying the percentage of H2 in the gas mixture from 70% to 100% at common substrate temperature (TS=500°C). The effects of the dilution on the structural changes and the chemical bonding of the different series have been studied using Fourier transform infrared and Raman spectroscopy.