Carbon nitride thin films obtained by laser ablation of graphite in a nitrogen plasma

Carbon nitride thin films were deposited by KrF (248 nm) laser ablation of graphite in a nitrogen atmosphere. A dc or rf nitrogen plasma was also superimposed onto the ablation process. The films were studied using a wide range of characterization techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), wavelength-dispersive electron probe X-ray microanalysis (WDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and Raman spectroscopies. The films were found to have a nitrogen concentration close to 10%. Nitrogen atoms were incorporated substitutionally in the films forming covalent CN bonds as revealed by XPS, FT-IR and Raman spectroscopies. Spatially resolved optical spectroscopy studies of the ablation plume were also carried out.