X-Ray Reflectivity of Ultra-Thin Diamond-Like Carbon Films

Abstract

Grazing incidence x-ray reflectivity has been employed to investigate ultra-thin films of tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) grown with an S-bend filtered cathodic vacuum arc. The results indicate that x-ray reflectivity can be used as a metrological tool for thickness measurements on films as thin as 0.5 nm, which is lower than the range required for carbon overcoats for magnetic hard disks and sliders if they are to reach storage densities of 100 Gbits/in(exp2). The density of the films was derived from the best-fit to simulated reflectivity profiles from models for the structural parameters. In such thin films, the x-rays are reflected mainly at the film substrate interface, rather than the outer surface, so that the film density is derived from analysis of the oscillations of the post-critical angle reflectivity.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 2001
Accession Number
ADP012163

Entities

People

  • A. C. Ferrari
  • A. Libassi
  • B. K. Tanner
  • J. Robertson

Organizations

  • Durham University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Absorption Spectra
  • Corrosion Resistance
  • Electron Energy
  • Energy
  • Films
  • Fullerenes
  • Material Degradation Processes
  • Materials
  • Materials Laboratories
  • Measurement
  • Optical Properties
  • Oxide Films
  • Reflectivity
  • Simulations
  • Thin Films
  • X Rays
  • X-Ray Reflectometry

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Spectroscopy.
  • Thin Film Deposition Science.
  • Tribology (the study of the boundary interaction between sliding surfaces, lubrication, wear and friction).