Effect of various nitrogen flow ratios on the optical properties of (Hf:N)-DLC films prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering

Hf and N co-doped diamond-like carbon [(Hf:N)-DLC] films were deposited on 316L stainless steel and glass substrates through reactive magnetron sputtering of hafnium and carbon targets at various nitrogen flow ratios (R=N2/[N2+CH4+Ar]). The effects of chemical composition and crystal structure on the optical properties of the (Hf:N)-DLC films were studied. The obtained films consist of uniform HfN nanocrystallines embedded into the DLC matrix. The size of the graphite clusters with sp2 bonds (La) and the ID/IG ratio increase to 2.47 nm and 3.37, respectively, with increasing R. The optical band gap of the films decreases from 2.01 eV to 1.84 eV with increasing R. This finding is consistent with the trends of structural transformations and could be related to the increase in the density of π-bonds due to nitrogen incorporation. This paper reports the influence of nitrogen flow ratio on the correlation among the chemical composition, crystal structure, and optical properties of (Hf:N)-DLC films