Thermal decomposition of copper nitride thin ®lms and dots formation by electron beam writing

Copper nitride (Cu3N) thin ®lms were prepared on glass substrates by reactive rf magnetron sputtering. The ®lm was decomposed into Cu ®lm by heating 4508C for 30 min. Nitrogen gas effused from the Cu3N ®lm during the heating. The decomposition initiation temperature of the ®lms was about 3608C, and the thermal analysis involved thermogravimetry (TG) as well as a detection of N2‡ ion that effused from the ®lms during heating in a vacuum. Electron beam processing was used to decompose Cu3N into Cu. A dot array of 3 mm 3 mm and 1 mm 1 mm was obtained on the Cu3N ®lm after electron beam irradiation. The Cu3N ®lms easily dissolved in the dilute HCl solution. The etching rate of the Cu3N ®lm in 100 g/l HCl aqueous solution was 3900 times that of the Cu ®lm. # 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved