Figure 3.

(a) Variation of sp¹, sp², and sp³ contents and relative density (normalized by the density of diamond) of a-C films with the carbon atom deposition energy, (b) sp³ depth profiles of a-C films for carbon atom deposition energy equal to 1, 20, 80, and 120 eV (negative depth values correspond to the silicon substrate), (c) silicon substrate after relaxation, (d) carbon-silicon intermixing during the initial deposition phase resulting in the formation of an intermixing layer, (e) main deposition phase involving the growth of a bulk layer, and (f) formation of a surface layer during the end of the deposition process. Silicon and carbon atoms are shown in green and yellow colors, respectively.