Electronic properties of a-CN x thin films: An x-ray-absorption and photoemission spectroscopy study

Abstract

The electronic properties of amorphous carbon nitride were studied by x-ray-absorption near-edge structure (XANES) and valence-band photoelectron spectroscopy (PES). The nitrogen incorporation was found to induce graphitization, as evidenced by an increase of the s p2 cluster in C and N K -edge XANES spectra. The structure is found to be similar to pyridine. Hybridized C-N bond lengths were determined from the position of the σ* resonance of XANES spectra and the obtained results suggest s p2 hybridization. A valence-band PES spectrum showed that the p-π band became more intense than the p-π band upon higher at. % nitrogen addition, which confirmed the role played by the π bonds in controlling the electronic structure of a-C Nx films. © 2005 American Institute of Physics.