Structural analysis and microstructural observation of SiC N x y films prepared by reactive sputtering of SiC in N and Ar

In this paper, the amorphous silicon carbonitride SiC N.films were prepared by radio frequency RF.magnetron x y reactive sputtering using sintered SiC target. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy XPS. and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer FTIR.were used for structural characterization of the films. The results revealed the formation of complex networks among the three elements Si, C and N.and the existence of different chemical bonds in the SiC N films such as x y C`N, C-N C.N, Si`C and Si`N. The stoichiometry of the as-deposited films was found to be close to SiCN. Atomic force microscopy AFM.observation showed a very smooth surface morphology of the as-deposited films, which was proved to be amorphous by high-resolution electron micrography HREM.and selected area diffraction SAD.and remained very stable even after exposure to electron bombardment. q2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.