Reactivity of rhodium during co-deposition of rhodium and carbon

The detailed characterizations of rhodium/carbon films prepared by co-deposition using a dual magnetron sputtering have been carried out on silicon substrates at room temperature. Effects of the carbon incorporated in the film on the chemical bonding state, optical reflectivity and crystallinity were investigated using XPS, reflectivity measurements, XRD and SEM. The incorporation of carbon changes the films’ crystallinity and thus producing amorphous films. The reflectivity of the films decreases linearly as the rhodium concentration decreases. It is important to note that no chemical bonding was observed between rhodium and carbon whatever the deposition conditions, even at high deposition temperature. Concerning the reactivity of rhodium films with oxygen, after long term storage in air the rhodium surface is covered with a thin rhodium oxide (few nanometers). However, for these films no variation of the optical reflectivity was observed after long air storage.