The network structure of amorphous silicon–carbon alloy

Abstract The network structure of amorphous silicon–carbon alloy (a-Si1−xCx) has been studied over a wide range of x. The a-Si1−xCx thin films were prepared by sputtering silicon and carbon target with argon in radio-frequency magnetron sputtering equipment. The films were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, optical absorption, infrared absorption, and mechanical measurements. The results showed that the network structure could be classified neither as the random covalent network nor as the chemically ordered covalent network. The structure as a whole was close to the random covalent network, but the Si–Si combination at x>0.5 showed a feature of the chemically ordered covalent network. The film at 0.6