I am trying to do sputtering of graphite target of 4" dia and 3 mm thickness on copper substrate. The distance between the target and the substrate is 6cm and substrate temp is 35 deg C. Ar gas flow rate is 5 sccm and pressure conditions are satisfied. With the coating time of 40 mins I am getting a dark blue appearance on copper surface. But with SEM analysis the coating is absent. Also, Raman spectroscopy is indicating a mild presence of graphene like structures. I am not able to find the reason for this. Can anybody explain this?
It is possible that you are depositing an ultrathin layer of copper carbide.
Are you preparing ultra dense film?
If not you can enhance the film thickness. Secondly, you can reduce the target to substrate distance to enhance the deposition rate and substrate temp that will aid up crystallinity.
Importantly, when using SEM try to avoid high power signal that can also affect the thin film (as in your case of ultra dense film).
Good luck.
@Bibhuti B Sahu: Thank you very much sir. I just want to try if it is possible to grow graphen thin film layer over the copper substrate using magnetron sputtering of graphite over copper.
It is possibile that your coating is not able to adhere. First, try to put a small steel or silicon piece to verify the effective dep. Rate. In copper adhesion is very difficult due to different thermal expansion, you can deposit a thin bondcoat (Ti or Cr) or try to increase Ion bombardment during deposition. Best regards,
what is the sputtering pressure in the chamber. If your sputtering pressure is high you will get lower thicknesses.
If you want to obtain structures like graphene or other structures like fullerene by magnetron sputtering with a graphite target source, you need to think in the posibility to work at higher temperature, and change the substrate due the thermal expansion of Cu.
And check the gas pressure, you need to work in the correct pressure to obtain films with good thickness, and the most important in the correct atomic percentage.
@Andrei Stanishevsky: Thank you very much for your suggestions, sir. I am trying that continuously. With increasing the deposition time I am getting darker deposition but I am unable to see anything in SEM. I just want to know is there is any possibility to get any graphene like structures using magnetron sputtering of Graphite target.
By SEM analysis, do you mean EDS measurements? If your C-films are very thin, then the high voltage needed to excite carbon core electrons my result in the electrons tunneling through a thin film without producing many C core X-rays. If the thicknesses are of the order of a few tenths of a um, then any of a number of Dektak type of mechanical measurements, AFM and optical interference fringe should give a reasonable thickness measurement. The best will depend on the range and how abrupt your film edges are.
@Everett E. Chrisman: Thank you very much for your kind suggestion sir.
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