Stability of Hydrogenated Amorphous Carbon thin films for application in Electronic Devices

In this study, hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) films are investigated for electronic applications as an insulating layer. a-C:H films were deposited using radio frequency-Plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (RF-PECVD) technique at room temperature. For the first time, the properties of a-C:H films as a function of annealing temperature is investigated, with a focus on their electrical and optical properties. This study shows that a-C:H films are stable up to 450ºC. This investigation will facilitate the use of a-C:H films as an insulating layer where the semiconductor active layers are deposited at higher temperatures (e.g. amorphous silicon deposited around 300ºC for thin film transistor TFTs). In addition to understanding the electrical and optical properties of annealed a-C:H films, we have further explored and studied its suitability in Flash-type memory devices. Various forms of diamond-like carbon are considered to have a high chemical resistance; no extensive data are available in the literature on this subject. The stability of a-C: H thin films with various reactive chemicals, commonly used in organic/printable electronic devices, is also investigated in this work. The findings may provide opportunities for adoption/integration of a-C:H in hybrid organic-inorganic electronic devices.