Formation of carbon nitride compounds during successive implantations in copper

Copper substrates are successively implanted with carbon and nitrogen (13C+ and 14N+) at high fluences (5 × 1017 and 1 × 1017 at. cm−2, respectively) in order to synthesize specific carbon nitride compounds. The concentration as well as the depth distribution of carbon 13C and nitrogen 14N are determined using non resonant nuclear reactions induced by a 1.05 MeV deuteron beam. The use of (d,p) and (d,α) reactions allows us to profile both 13C and 14N elements with a single and relatively rapid measurement and a quite good resolution. The bonded states of carbon and nitrogen are studied as a function of depth by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The curve fitting of the C 1s and N 1s photopeaks shows that carbon and nitrogen atoms exist in different chemical states depending on the analysis depth, which correspond to specific kinds of chemical bonds. At least two characteristic C-N bonds are detected indicating that different carbon nitride compounds have been formed during the implantations.