Abstract
The coordination of carbon as a function of nitrogen concentration in energetically deposited carbon nitride films has been systematically studied. A structural transformation from primarily -bonded to -bonded carbon and a density decrease from 3.3 to were observed as the nitrogen concentration increases from 11 to 17 %. Calculations on nitrogen-substituted carbon clusters indicate that there is a preference to form -bonded carbon when the nitrogen concentration is larger than 12%. The implications for these results to the synthesis of superhard carbon nitride materials are discussed.
- Received 18 November 1997
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.57.R3185
©1998 American Physical Society