Surface induced bulk modifications of amorphous carbon nitride films by post-deposition oxygen and hydrogen plasma treatment

• Published in: Thin solid films Vol. 491; no. 1; pp. 161 - 167
• Main Authors: Miyajima, Y., Nitta, S., Silva, S.R.P., Zeze, D.A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lausanne Elsevier B.V 22.11.2005; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Amorphous carbon nitride; Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Electronic structure and electrical properties of surfaces, interfaces, thin films and low-dimensional structures; Exact sciences and technology; Materials science; Methods of deposition of films and coatings; film growth and epitaxy; Optical properties; Optical properties and condensed-matter spectroscopy and other interactions of matter with particles and radiation; Physics; Sputtering; Surfaces and interfaces; thin films and whiskers (structure and nonelectronic properties); X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy; 68.35.Fx; 85.40.Sz; 85.40.Ry; Optical properties; 68.55.-a; Amorphous carbon nitride; X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy; Sputtering; Radiation effects; Oxygen; Hydrogen; Plasma assisted processing; Controlled atmospheres; Surface treatments; Amorphous state; Radiofrequency; 85.40.Ry Amorphous carbon nitride; Cathode sputtering; Ambient temperature; Carbon nitrides; Argon; Optical films; Plasma deposition; Radiofrequency sputtering
• ISSN: 0040-6090; 1879-2731
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2005.06.033

Hydrogen-free amorphous carbon nitride films (a-CN x ), prepared at room temperature by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering under a 99.999% argon atmosphere, are irradiated with hydrogen (a-CN x :H) or oxygen (a-CN x :O) plasma to prepare layer-by-layer amorphous carbon nitride films (a-CN x :LL). a-CN x :LL are prepared by growing cyclically thin layers of a-CN x by reactive radical sputtering of graphite, which is then subject to hydrogen or oxygen plasma treatment, with the process repeated to build up thicker layers. The analysis of the structural properties and surface morphology of these films by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy shows that the chemical composition and microstructure are strongly dependent on the post-deposition plasma treatment. The refractive index and Tauc band gap indicate that the optical properties these films can be altered by post-deposition plasma treatment only, without resorting to annealing due to the diffusion of oxygen/hydrogen that occurs between a-CN x layers.