PECVD of Carbon Nanostructures in Hydrocarbon‐Based RF Plasmas

Abstract

Different aspects of the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition of various carbon nanostructures in the ionized gas phase of high-density, low-temperature reactive plasmas of Ar+H2+CH4 gas mixtures are studied. The growth techniques, surface morphologies, densities and fluxes of major reactive species in the discharge, and effects of the transport of the plasma-grown nanoparticles through the near-substrate plasma sheath are examined. Possible growth precursors of the carbon nanostructures are also discussed. In particular, the experimental and numerical results indicate that it is likely that the aligned carbon nanotip structures are predominantly grown by the molecular and radical units, whereas the plasma-grown nanoparticles are crucial components of polymorphous carbon films.

Plasma Nanoscience: From Nature's Mastery to Deterministic Plasma-Aided Nanofabrication

“…On the other hand, when the bias increases, more ions deposit closer to the nanotip bases giving rise to wider and shorter pyramidlike structures shown in the bottom panels in Fig. 6 [22], [27], [29], [30]. Quite similar results are obtained when the plasma density is changed: At higher plasma densities, the influx of building material is larger and the NAs usually feature wider bases [29], [30], in accordance with the results of numerical experiments shown in Fig.…”

“…4 to the spatial distributions of the main working species in the 0.5-m-sized vacuum chamber of the plasma reactor (the third figure from the left in the top row in Fig. 4) used for the synthesis of the carbon-nanotip structures [21], [24], [27]. The numerical results can be used to optimize the process parameters.…”

Nonresonant power transfer in plasma-surface interactions via two-surface wave decay

“…22,45 The effects considered may be particularly important for the effective control of the temperature of plasma-exposed surfaces, which is one of the critical requirements in delicate plasma applications such as surface processing and nanostructuring. 46 This work was partially supported by the Australian Research Council and the Center for Waves and Complex Systems of the University of Sydney.…”

Investigating the plasma chemistry for the synthesis of carbon nanotubes/nanofibres in an inductively coupled plasma enhanced CVD system: the effect of different gas mixtures

“…The low ICP power was found more efficient for SWCNT growth under their conditions. Ostrikov et al [22] used a low-frequency (0.46MHz) ICP-PECVD system to deposit carbon nanostructures with a mixture of Ar/H 2 /CH 4 . Their results indicated that the aligned carbon nanotip structures were predominantly grown by the molecular and radical units, whereas the plasma-grown nanoparticles were crucial components of polymorphous carbon films.…”