A study of the characteristics of films deposited at room temperature
on Si and KBr substrates by XeCl laser ablation of graphite in low pre
ssure (0.25-2.5 mbar) N-2 and NH3 is presented. Hard films, with a ver
y high electrical resistivity were obtained. N/C atomic ratios up to 0
.6 were calculated from backscattering measurements. Different diagnos
tic techniques (XPS, IR absorption spectroscopy, etc.) prove the forma
tion of carbon nitride with a prevalent graphitic structure.