ANALYSIS OF A-C-H SUPERHARD COATINGS BY SCANNING AUGER MICROSCOPE AND TARGET FACTOR-ANALYSIS

a-C:H (amorphous carbon) superhard coatings have a wide range of applications due to their unique properties. SAM (scanning Auger microscope) depth profiles have been measured for a-C:H films on several substrates in order to obtain information on the a-C:H/substrate interface which is governing the adhesion properties of these coatings. To extract the chemical information from the Auger depth profile analysis through an a-C:H thin film on Si(111) a TFA (target factor analysis) followed by a target transformation to the Si, C, SiC single component spectra was performed. This analysis provides chemically resolved Auger depth profiles and the number of chemical compounds that contribute to the spectra as well as the thickness of the interlayer. The interlayer between the film and the substrate could be resolved both stoichiometrically and chemically, although it was only a few nanometers thick.