The effect of nitriding on the humidity sensing properties of hydrogenated amorphous carbon films

Abstract: We have studied the effect of nitriding on the humidity sensing properties of hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) films. The films were prepared in two stages combining the techniques of physical deposition in vapor phase evaporation (PAPVD) and plasma pulsed nitriding. By deconvolution of the Raman spectrum we identified two peaks corresponding to the D and G modes characteristic of a-C:H. After the N$_2$-H$_2$ plasma treating, the peaks narrowed and shifted to the right, which we associated with the incorporation of N into the structure. We compared the sensitivity to the relative humidity (RH) of the films before and after the N$_2$-H$_2$ plasma treatment. The nitriding improved the humidity sensitivity measured as the low frequency resistance. By impedance spectroscopy we studied the frequency dependence of the AC conductivity $\sigma$ at different RH conditions. Before nitriding $\sigma(\omega)\sim A \omega^s$, it seemed to have the universal behaviour seen in other amorphous systems. The humidity changed the overall scale $A$. After nitriding, the exponent $s$ increased, and became RH dependent. We associated this behaviour to the change of the interaction mechanism between the water molecule and the substrate when the samples were nitriding.