Influence of deposition temperatures on bonding state and microstructure of carbon nitride thin films prepared by ion-beam-assisted deposition

The influences of the deposition temperature on bonding states and microstructures of carbon nitride films prepared by ion-beam-assisted deposition are analyzed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Xray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS): Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). FT-IR absorption spectra exhibit a peak corresponding to the C=N bond and its population decreases with the deposition temperature. N Is peaks in XPS spectra indicate the existence of two different N Is bonding states, one attributed to nitrogen inserted into the graphitic ring structure, and the other attributed to nitrogen surrounded by three carbons in the C-N network. The increase of the deposition temperature leads to the formation of the C-N cluster similar to the highly disordered turbostratic structure. In C-N film growth, however, the sequential phase transformation from sp(2)-bonded phases to sp(3)-bonded phase frequently observed in BN film deposition is not found in TEM analyses.