Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-sh8wx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-19T12:02:11.377Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Thermal stability of carbon nitride thin films

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

Niklas Hellgren ,
Nian Lin ,
Esteban Broitman ,
Virginie Serin ,
Stefano E. Grillo ,
Ray Twesten ,
Ivan Petrov ,
Christian Colliex ,
Lars Hultman  and
Jan-Eric Sundgren
Niklas Hellgren*
Affiliation:
Thin Film Physics Division, Department of Physics, Linköping University, S-581 83 Linköping, Sweden
Nian Lin
Affiliation:
Thin Film Physics Division, Department of Physics, Linköping University, S-581 83 Linköping, Sweden
Esteban Broitman
Affiliation:
Thin Film Physics Division, Department of Physics, Linköping University, S-581 83 Linköping, Sweden
Virginie Serin
Affiliation:
Centre d'Elaboration des Matériaux et Eludes Structurales/Centre de la Recherche Scientifique, B.P. 4347, 29 Rue Jeanne Marvig, F-31055 Toulouse, France
Stefano E. Grillo
Affiliation:
Centre d'Elaboration des Matériaux et Eludes Structurales/Centre de la Recherche Scientifique, B.P. 4347, 29 Rue Jeanne Marvig, F-31055 Toulouse, France
Ray Twesten
Affiliation:
Center for Microanalysis of Materials, Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, 104 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801
Ivan Petrov
Affiliation:
Center for Microanalysis of Materials, Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, 104 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801
Christian Colliex
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, Université Paris-Sud, Bât. 510, F-91405 Orsay, France
Lars Hultman
Affiliation:
Thin Film Physics Division, Department of Physics, Linköping University, S-581 83 Linköping, Sweden
Jan-Eric Sundgren
Affiliation:
Thin Film Physics Division, Department of Physics, Linköping University, S-581 83 Linköping, Sweden
*
a) Address all correspondence to this author. Present address: Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, 104 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801. e-mail: hellgren@uiuc.edu
Get access

Abstract

The thermal stability of carbon nitride films, deposited by reactive direct current magnetron sputtering in N2 discharge, was studied for postdeposition annealing temperatures TA up to 1000 °C. Films were grown at temperatures of 100 °C (amorphous structure) and 350 and 550 °C (fullerenelike structure) and were analyzed with respect to thickness, composition, microstructure, bonding structure, and mechanical properties as a function of TA and annealing time. All properties investigated were found to be stable for annealing up to 300 °C for long times (>48 h). For higher TA, nitrogen is lost from the films and graphitization takes place. At TA = 500 °C the graphitization process takes up to 48 h while at TA = 900 °C it takes less than 2 min. A comparison on the evolution of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy and Raman spectra during annealing shows that for TA > 800 °C, preferentially pyridinelike N and –C≡N is lost from the films, mainly in the form of molecular N2 and C2N2, while N substituted in graphite is preserved the longest in the structure. Films deposited at the higher temperature exhibit better thermal stability, but annealing at temperatures a few hundred degrees Celsius above the deposition temperature for long times is always detrimental for the mechanical properties of the films.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 16 , Issue 11 , November 2001 , pp. 3188 - 3201
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2001

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1.Chen, G.L., Li, Y., Lin, J., Huan, C.H.A., and Guo, Y.P., Diamond Relat. Mater. 8, 1906 (1999).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2.Lim, S.F., Wee, A.T.S., Lin, J., Chua, D.H.C., and Huan, C.H.A., Chem. Phys. Lett. 306, 53 (1999).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3.Xiao, X.C., Jiang, W.H., Song, L.X., Tian, J.F., and Hu, X.F., Chem. Phys. Lett. 310, 240 (1999).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4.Xiao, X.C., Jiang, W.H., Song, L.X., Tian, J.F., and Hu, X.F., Diamond Relat. Mater. 9, 1782 (2000).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5.Sjöstroöm, H., Stafström, S., Boman, M., and Sundgren, J-E., Phys. Rev. Lett. 75, 1335 (1995).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
6.Sjöstroöm, H., Hultman, L., Sundgren, J-E., Hainsworth, S.V., Page, T.F., and Theunissen, G.S.A.M., J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 14, 56 (1996).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7.Hellgren, N., Johansson, M.P., Broitman, E., Hultman, L., and Sundgren, J-E., Phys. Rev. B 59, 5162 (1999).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8.Grillo, S.E., Hellgren, N., Serin, V., Broitman, E., Colliex, C., Hultman, L., and Kihn, Y., Eur. Phys. J. Appl. Phys. 13, 97 (2001).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9.Egerton, R.F., Electron Energy-Loss Spectroscopy in the Electron Microscope 2nd ed., (Plenum Press, New York, 1986).Google Scholar
10.Owman, F., Ph.D. Thesis., No. 420, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden (1996).Google Scholar
11.Lin, N., Hellgren, N., Johansson, M.P., Hultman, L., Erlandsson, R., and Sundgren, J-E., Phys. Rev. B 61, 4898 (2000).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
12.Shirley, D.A., Phys. Rev. B 5, 4709 (1972).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
13.Wagner, C.D., Davis, L.E., Zeller, M.V., Taylor, J.A., Raymond, R.M., and Gale, L.H., Surf. Interface Anal. 3, 211 (1981).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14.Hellgren, N., Johansson, M.P., Broitman, E., Sandström, P., Hultman, L., and Sundgren, J-E., Thin Solid Films 382, 146 (2001).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15.Prioli, R., Zanette, S.I., Caride, A.O., Lacerda, M.M., and Freire, F.L., Jr., Diamond Relat. Mater. 8, 993 (1999).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16.Kulisch, W., Popov, C., Zambov, L., Buliř, J., Delplancke-Ogletree, M.P., Lančok, J., and Jilínek, M., Thin Solid Films 377–378, 148 (2000).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
17.Fernández-Ramos, C., Sayagués, M.J., Rojas, T.C., Alcalá, M.D., Real, C., and Fernández, A., Diamond. Relat. Mater. 9, 212 (2000).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18.Soto, R., González, P., Lusquiños, F., Pou, J., León, B., and Pérez-Amor, M., Carbon 36, 781 (1998).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19.Hellgren, N., Johansson, M.P., Hjörvarsson, B., Broitman, E., Östblom, M., Liedberg, B., Hultman, L., and Sundgren, J-E., J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 18, 2349 (2000).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
20.Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 81st ed. (CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2000), pp. 5–26-32.Google Scholar
21.Zheng, W.T., Xing, K.Z., Hellgren, N., Lögdlund, M., Johansson, Å., Gelius, U., Salaneck, W.R., and Sundgren, J-E., J. Electron Spec-trosc. Relat. Phenom. 87, 45 (1997).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
22.Ronning, C., Feldermann, H., Merk, R., Hofsäss, H., Reinke, P., and Thiele, J-U., Phys. Rev. B 58, 2207 (1998).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
23.Souto, S., Pickholz, M., dos Santos, M.C., and Alvarez, F., Phys. Rev. B 57, 2536 (1998).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
24.Johansson, Å and Stafström, S., J. Chem. Phys. 111, 3203 (1999).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
25.Snis, A. and Matar, S.F., Phys. Rev. B 60, 10855 (1999).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
26. NIST X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy Database Version 3.0 (Web Version), http://srdata.nist.gov/xps/, (2001).Google Scholar
27.Snis, A., Matar, S.F., Plashkevych, O., and Ågren, H., J. Chem. Phys. 111, 9678 (1999).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
28.Plashkevych, O., Snis, A., Yang, L., Ågren, H., and Matar, S.F., Phys. Script. 63, 70 (2000).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
29.Ripalda, J.M., Román, E., Díaz, N., Galán, L., Montero, I., Comelli, G., Baraldi, A., Lizzit, S., Goldoni, A., and Paulucci, G., Phys. Rev. B 60, R3705 (2000).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
30.Hummelen, J.C., Knight, B., Pavlovich, J., Gonzalez, R., and Wudl, F., Science 269, 1554 (1995).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
31.Pichler, T., Knupfer, M., Golden, M.S., Haffner, S., Freiedlein, R., Fink, J., Andreoni, W., Curioni, A., Keshavarz-K, M., Bellavia-Lund, C.. Sastre, A., Hummelen, J-C., and Wudl, F., Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 4249 (1997).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
32.Hitchcock, A.P., Corex database: http://xray.uu.se/hypertext/corexdb.html, (2001).Google Scholar
33.Hainsworth, S.V., Sjöström, H., Page, T.F., and Sundgren, J-E., in Thin Films: Stresses and Mechanical Properties VI, edited by Gerberich, W.W., Gao, H., Sundgren, J-E., and Baker, S.P. (Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 436, Pittsburgh, PA, 1997), p. 275.Google Scholar
34.Hellgren, N., Johansson, M.P., Broitman, E., Hultman, L., and Sundgren, J-E., Appl. Phys. Lett. 785, 2703 (2001).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
35.Badzian, A. and Badzian, T., Int. J. Ref. Met. Hard Mater. 15, 3 (1997).CrossRefGoogle Scholar