Structural properties of carbon nitride films deposited by reactive - Pulsed laser deposition technique

Carbon nitride films have been deposited by the reactive pulsed laser deposition technique by ablating carbon in a nitrogen atmosphere at different substrate temperatures and different background pressures of nitrogen. Si(111) and 440C steel substrates were used in the present investigation. Deposited films are uniform and show good adhesion to the substrates. The deposition rates depend on laser fluence, background pressure, and target-substrate distance. The nitrogen concentration in the deposited films increases with increasing background nitrogen gas pressure and laser fluence. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy has been employed to evaluated CdropN bonds. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy has been used to study the composition of the deposited films. X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy techniques revealed that the deposited films have an oriented microcrystalline structure after annealing at 900degreesC with smooth surface. Electronic, mechanical and tribological properties of these films have also been discussed.