Characteristics and Areas of Possible Application of Amorphous Silicon–Carbon and Metal–Silicon–Carbon Films. Review

The uniqueness of the properties of silicon–carbon and silicon–metal–carbon films, which are representatives of the nanocrystalline and amorphous classes of carbon allotropes, leads to a wide range of areas of their possible applications. In this study, the dynamics of the development of technologies for obtaining and expanding the areas of application of silicon–carbon and silicon–metal–carbon films is analyzed. Thus, the elasticity, the mechanical strength (1500–3000 kg/mm 2 ), and the chemical stability of films ensure the effectiveness of their applications as passivating coatings. Thermal conductivity and a high emissivity factor (0.8), high elastic-modulus values (9 × 10 11 N/m 2 ), the high resistivity of silicon–carbon films (10 5 –10 8 Ohm cm), and their transparency to electromagnetic radiation (up to frequencies of several tens of gigahertz) allow them to be used in broadband radio-frequency devices as moveable elements (beams, bridges, membranes) of microelectromechanical system (MEMS) switches and varactors. The thermal resistance (up to 600°C in an open system), the rather high electrical conductivity (the specific resistance is ~10 –5 Ohm cm), and the high emissivity of the films make it possible to form silicon–metal–carbon films based on heating-type broadband radiators with a radiation spectrum depending on the film temperature in the range of 2–14 μm. Phase transformations of the amorphous silicon–carbon film into a graphene film, which are carried out by means of high-temperature annealing in vacuum in the presence of a catalyst, allow the formation on this basis of control electrodes with low grid current losses (no more than 5%) in vacuum emission devices of high-power microwave electronics, as well as the functional layer of a multilayer heterostructure of a field-emission medium for moveable cold cathode-grid units. The revealed effect of self-modulation of the phase and elemental composition of a silicon–metal–carbon film in the growth direction is of not only applied but also fundamental interest.