Electronic properties of amorphous carbon films

Abstract
The authors present electronic-structure calculations on chain-like compounds modelling the various microscopic components present in hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) films. They demonstrate that the electronic properties are mainly governed by the graphitic component. They describe the influence of polyethylenic, diamond-like polyphenylic, and polyolefinic components on the electronic structure and discuss the nature of possible defects leading to states in the gap.