Electrical and Optical Properties of Diamond-Like Carbon

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films, amorphous hydrogenatied or non-hydrogenated forms of carbon, are metastable amorphous materials characterized by a range of attractive mechanical, chemical, tribological, as well as optical and electrical properties. The films can be prepared at low temperatures, from a large variety of precursors, by a diversity of techniques, and their characteristics can be modified by incorporation of different elements such as N, F, Si, or metals. The diversity of methods used for the deposition of DLC films provides the flexibility to tailor their properties according to specific needs and potential applications. The optical gap of these materials is in the range of 1-4 e V and the electrical resistivity spans 14 orders of magnitude. The dielectric constant of DLC films covers the range of 2.5-6. The talk will review the optical and electrical characteristics of DLC and discuss the actual and potential applications based on these properties.