Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
5370355 | Applied Surface Science | 2006 | 4 Pages |
Copper nitride thin films were prepared on glass and silicon substrates by ablating a copper target at different pressure of nitrogen. The films were characterized in situ by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and ex situ by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The nitrogen content in the samples, x = [N]/[Cu], changed between 0 and 0.33 for a corresponding variation in nitrogen pressure of 9 Ã 10â2 to 1.3 Ã 10â1 Torr. Using this methodology, it is possible to achieve sub-, over- and stoichiometric films by controlling the nitrogen pressure. The XPS results show that is possible to obtain copper nitride with x = 0.33 (Cu3N) and x = 0.25 (Cu4N) when the nitrogen pressure is 1.3 Ã 10â1 and 5 Ã 10â2 Torr, respectively. The lattice constants obtained from XRD results for copper nitride with x = 0.25 is of 3.850 à and with x = 0.33 have values between 3.810 and 3.830 à . The electrical properties of the films were studied as a function of the lattice constant. These results show that the electrical resistivity increases when the lattice parameter is decreasing. The electrical resistivity of copper nitride with x = 0.25 was smaller than samples with x = 0.33.