PECVD of Carbon Nanostructures in Hydrocarbon-Based RF Plasmas

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. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)