Carbon-based composite thin films for use as microelectrode

This paper describes a process for fabricating Pt-containing diamond-like carbon (Pt-DLC) composite thin films for use as microelectrode. Two sputter deposition techniques were used to prepare the sample thin films. In a sputter deposition process, the target used was a 99.99% pure graphite with different amounts of platinum coupons on the surface. In the other process, a reactive sputter deposition technique was employed. The target was a 99.99% pure platinum. In both cases DLC or Pt-DLC composite thin films were obtained using different deposition conditions. The resulting Pt-DLC composite thin films were subject to various analysis for the physical properties. Among them, improved electrical conductivity and reduced film stress were also found due to the addition of platinum into DLC.