XANES and XPS characterization of hard amorphous CSIxNy thin films grown by RF nitrogen plasma assisted pulsed laser deposition

Amorphous carbon silicon nitride thin films were grown on (100) oriented si licon substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) assisted by an RF nitroge n plasma source. Up to about 30 at. % nitrogen and up to 20 at. % silicon w ere found in the hard amorphous thin films by XPS in dependence on the comp osition of the mixed graphite / Si3N4 PLD target. The universal nanohardnes s was measured to be at maximum load force of 0.1 mN up to 23 GPa for thin CSixNy films with reference value of 14 GPa for single crystalline silicon. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) of CSixNy film surfaces showed a cl ear correlation of binding energy and intensity of fitted features of N Is, C is, and Si 2p peaks to the composition of the graphite I Si3N4 target an d to nitrogen now through the plasma source, indicating soft changes of bin ding structure of the thin films due to variation of PLD parameters. Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) of Si KL23L23;D-1 Auger transition gave a detai led view of bonding structure of Si in the CSixNy films. The intensity of p i* and sigma* resonances at the carbon K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge st ructure (XANES) of the CSixNy films measured at BESSY I corresponded to the nano-hardness of the CSixNy films, thus giving insight into chemical bindi ng structure of superhard amorphous materials.