Abstract
The hydrogenated amorphous carbon nitride (a-CNx:H) thin films were synthesized on the SS-304 substrates using a dense plasma focus device. The a-CNx: H thin films were synthesized using CH4/N-2 admixture gas and 20 focus deposition shots on substrates placed at different distances from the anode top. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman analysis confirmed different C=N bonding in the a-CNx: H thin films. A decrease in the N/C ratio as well as the sp(3)/sp(2) ratio with an increase in the substrate distance has been observed. The higher amount of C-N formation for the film synthesized at 10 cm is observed which decreases with increasing distance. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman analysis affirmed the C equivalent to N presence in all the thin films synthesized at different distances. The morphology of the synthesized a-CNx: H thin films showed nanoparticles and nanoparticle clusters formation at the surface. The hardness results showed comparatively lower hardness of the a-CNx: H thin films due to the presence of C equivalent to N. The C-N formation with lower amount of C equivalent to N and a higher N/C ratio as well as a higher sp(3)/sp(2) ratio for the films synthesized at 10 cm show reasonably higher hardness. Copyright (C) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.