Characterization of Carbon Nitride Films Prepared by Magnetic Filtered Plasma Deposition

ABSTRACTCarbon nitride films prepared by magnetic filtered plasma deposition were characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) absorption and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Characteristic bands corresponding to C-N, C=N, C=N, and C=C bonds were observed in FTIR spectra. It was found that the XPS C 1s and N 1s signals could be deconvoluted into three and two gaussian peaks, respectively. A plausible suggestion on the assignments of the XPS peaks to C3N4, CNx and ta-C phases was discussed. The relative abundance of the various CN bonds, the relative abundance of the various bonding components from XPS results, and their dependence on the nitrogen partial pressure PN during deposition were analyzed. Assuming the assignments of the XPS peaks to the various phases, the XPS results suggested that there would be an optimal PN that would favor the growth of the C3N4 phase. The electrical conductivity, the optical band gap and the Vickers hardness of these films were measured and the effects of PN on these properties were studied.