Composition and Microstructure of Magnetron Sputtering Deposited Ti-containing Amorphous Carbon Films

Ti-containing carbon films were deposited by using magnetron sputtering deposition. The composition and microstructure of the carbon films were characterized in detail by combining the techniques of Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It is found that carbon films contain Ti 18 at pct; after Ti incorporation, the films consist of titanium carbide; C1s peak appears at 283.4 eV and it could be divided into 283.29 and 284.55 eV, representing sp2 and sp3, respectively, and sp2 is superior to sp3. This Ti-containing film with dominating sp2 bonds is nanocomposites with nanocrystalline TiC clusters embedded in an amorphous carbon matrix, which could be proved by XRD and TEM.