Synthesis of diamond-like carbon films on Si substrates by photoemission-assisted plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films grown by photoemission-assisted plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PA-PECVD) have attracted attention as a gate insulator for graphene-channel field effect transistors (GFETs). In this study, the possibility of using PA-PECVD to grow insulating DLC films for GFETs is explored by focusing on the growth rate and uniformity of DLC films on Si substrates. Initially, the DLC films were formed at a constant rate but the growth rate decreased rapidly when the thickness reached approximately 400 nm. This is because of a decrease in photoelectron emissions from the Si substrates as they are covered by DLC films which absorb UV photons. However, the DLC films formed uniformly at thicknesses less than 16%. This result indicates that PA-PECVD is a promising method for growing DLC films as the gate dielectric layer of GFETs.