Preparation of a novel target material for carbon nitride film deposition

To increase the nitrogen content and the degree of crystallinity in carbon nitride films by film deposition techniques (i.e. sputtering, laser ablation etc.), a novel target material composed of carbon nitride has been prepared by UV photo-assisted synthesis. The intention is to replace the traditional graphite target with this material. This synthesis involves photo-chemical reaction of sodium amide and chloroform as carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively, followed by high temperature sintering under flowing nitrogen. Elemental analyses indicate the presence of C, N and H in the target material with a nitrogen to carbon ratio of 0.23. Infrared spectroscopy shows a mixture of sp³ and sp² carbon and sp² nitrogen in the sintered powder. Six diffraction peaks attributable to α-C₃N₄ were observed in XRD pattern. Grains of ∼0.3 μm in diameter in an extended network were also observed in the SEM micrographs. The sintered carbon nitride powder is stable up to 800°C.