Synthesis and characterization of ternary Al-C-N compound

An attempt for modification of carbon nitride material by introduction of At to form a ternary Al-CN compound in a thin film deposited using inductively coupled plasma (ICP) assisted DC magnetron sputtering is reported. Optical emission spectroscopy (OES) is used for in-situ observation and identification of reactive species. The films were characterized using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and x-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD). The results indicate that C-N bond is formed in the plasma. The XPS narrow scam spectra confirm the existence of C-Al, Sp(2)C-N and sp(3)C-N bonds. Elemental proportion of carbon increases with the CH4/N-2 flow rate ratio, and has a tendency to saturate. The film is dominated by c-AlN (111), mixed with Al4C3 and AlCN ternary compound.