Decomposition of palladium acetate and C₆₀ fullerite during thermal evaporation in PVD process

The mechanisms of thermal decomposition of evaporated material during Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) process depend on the kind of evaporated material. Such parameters of PVD process as deposition rate, source temperature and deposition time should be carefully selected taking into account the properties of material. Deposited films can span the range of chemical compositions based on the source materials. The nanostructural carbon films in form of palladium nanograins embedded in various carbonaceous matrixes were obtained by thermal evaporation during PVD process from two separated sources containing C₆₀ fullerite and palladium acetate, both in a form of powder. The evaporation was realized by resistive heating of sources under a dynamic vacuum of 10^-3 Pa. The influence of decomposition path of evaporated materials on the film structure has been discussed. Prepared C-Pd films were characterized using thermo-gravimetric method, differential thermal analysis, infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The influence of decomposition of Pd acetate and fullerite on the final film structure was also shown.