High-Resolution Soft X-Ray Emission Spectra of Crystalline Carbon Nitride Films Deposited by Electron Cyclotron Resonance Sputtering

Abstract

The X-ray emission spectra of crystalline carbon nitride films deposited by electron-cyclotron-resonance (ECR) plasma sputtering were observed using a high-resolution soft X-ray spectrometer at the Advanced Light Source to investigate the electronic structure of carbon nitride crystals. The spectral features in C K and N K X-ray emissions from the ECR-deposited carbon nitride films represent the highly degenerated valence orbitals and their highly pure crystalline form. The C K and N K X-ray emission spectra were approximately explained based on the C2p and N2p density of states in the hybridized C–N bonds. The absence of significant peak shifting in selectively excited C K and N K X-ray emission spectra showed that there is a fairly nondispersive structure between valence and conduction bands in ECR-deposited carbon nitride films.