X-ray diffraction study of gold nitride films: Observation of a solid solution phase

The structure of nitride containing gold films produced by reactive ion sputtering and nitrogen plasma etching is investigated using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction. It is found that gold nitride is a solid solution of nitrogen atoms dissolved in a fcc gold matrix. Differences between the strain and lattice parameters of gold and gold nitride films were observed and are explained by interstitial nitrogen present in the latter. c 2008 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3040717