A facile approach for preparing chromium nitride thin films via atmospheric pressure plasma processing

Chromium nitride (CrN) thin films with strong (111, 200) diffraction peaks have been produced using an ammonolysis-free atmospheric pressure plasma process. The sol-gel derived thin films are deposited on quartz that has been bombarded with atmospheric pressure plasma, produced using axial N-2 (99.995%) at 1100 W or axial forming gas (N-2/H-2 = 9) at 700 W to 1000 W for 10 min. In addition, dichromium nitride (Cr2N) thin films with intense (002, 111) diffraction peaks have been formed using atmospheric pressure plasma made from axial forming gas (N-2/H-2 = 9) at 1100 W for 10 min. A dense morphology was observed in the CrN thin films. In comparison, a porous morphology was observed in the Cr2N thin films, which can be explained by the release of nitrogen during the phase transformation. This atmospheric pressure plasma process, which does not require the traditional ammonolysis, offers an effective route toward chromium nitride thin films.