Effects of nitrogen on the structure and properties of highly tetrahedral amorphous carbon films

Nitrogen-containing tetrahedral amorphous carbon films (ta-C) have been prepared using a magnetic field filtered plasma stream deposition method. The plasma stream was first formed by sputtering of a graphite target in nitrogen-argon atmospheres. The partial pressure of nitrogen, P-N, was in the range 0-7 Pa at total pressure of deposition P-d = 7 Pa. The optical and electrical properties of samples were studied using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared absorption spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-visible optical absorption spectroscopy and measurements of electrical conductivity in the temperature range 300-500 K. The incorporation of small amounts of nitrogen (<7.5%) will result in an increase in electrical conductivity, a slight drop of the band gap and an increase in band-tail absorption. These suggest that incorporation of a small amount of nitrogen into ta-C films will induce graphitization of bonding. For samples deposited at P-N > 3.5 Pa, nitrogenation of films is very pronounced. The actual nitrogen content in films in terms of atomic percentage can be as much as 47%. The films have a wide band gap of 4.05 eV and an extremely low electrical conductivity. These suggest that a carbon nitride film is formed. The configurations of N atoms in the ta-C network are identified and discussed.