**2.2 Instrumentation**

The structural behavior has been recorded by Raman spectroscopy. Raman spectra of the argon-sputtered films were acquired by micro-Raman spectrometer with a laser excitation wavelength at 532 nm. The optical behavior has been studied by UV–VIS spectrophotometer.

The diffuse reflectance measurements have been performed on Si(111), SiC, and argon-sputtered SiC samples using a Shimadzu UV-VIS-NIR spectrophotometer (UV-3600 Plus), equipped with integrating sphere assembly ISR-603 in the wavelength range of 200–800 nm with a resolution of 0.1 nm. All the reflectance spectra were recorded keeping air as the reference.

Current–voltage (I-V) characteristics and conductivity measurements have been performed by employing Keithley 4200A-SCS parameter analyzer by applying voltage of −5 V to +5 V and measuring the resulting current.
