Microwave plasma apparatus for deposition of hydrogenated amorphous carbon layers

A novel arrangement for the production of a microwave plasma by electron cyclotron resonance is described. Ion currents with current densities of up to 2.5 mA cm−2 can be homogeneously extracted from the plasma over surfaces having diameters of up to 10 cm. The microwave plasmatron can be operated by various working gases. Its application in the deposition of hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) layer has been investigated. At a high deposition rate (200 nm min−1), a-C:H layers were deposited presenting properties which were also obtained by other workers who applied different techniques.