Chapter 16 Synthesis Of Crystalline C-N Thin Films

This chapter describes the physico-chemical phenomena underlying the synthesis of crystalline carbon nitride (C-N) thin films. In section 1, the status of current research on C-N films is briefly reviewed as well as its benefits. Section 2 describes the experimental techniques employed to produce C-N films. These techniques include laser ablation of graphite targets in an atomic nitrogen ambience, dual ion beam assisted deposition, reactive sputtering of pure graphite target with pure N2, rf-plasma-assisted hot filament chemical vapor deposition (cvd) and ion implantation. The theoretical models are described in section 3 for predicting the thermal stability and formation of C-N films. These models include thermodynamics, molecular dynamics, and thermal spike. In section 4, some characterization techniques are described including X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for microstructure, rutherford backscattering (RBS) and auger electron spectroscopy (AES) for composition, and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) for chemical state. Some characterization results are also presented. The prospects for practical application of C-N films are summarized in the concluding section 5. Some diagnostic questions are provided at the end to reinforce the materials discussed in the chapter. © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved