Chapter 7 - Optical and Electronic Properties of Carbon Nitride

Abstract

This chapter discusses the understanding of the electronic and optical properties of carbon nitride, whether crystalline or amorphous forms, is at a very rudimentary stage. Nitrogen-containing organic and polymeric carbon compounds have been known for many years, and even compounds containing only carbon and nitrogen—for example, so-called paracyanogen compounds that have a polymerized (C=N)n structure have been known and have been synthesized for some time. It is the potential mechanical properties of the materials and their use for wear-resistant coatings that have provoked interest until now because of the prediction of their superhard qualities. Most of the films deposited by sputtering processes have used conventional DC planar magnetron sputtering of graphite in an atmosphere of nitrogen or anargon-nitrogen mixture. In this process, most of the carbon species are neutral carbon atoms that react on the substrate with nitrogen ions and neutrals to form a carbon nitride compound with greater or lesser nitrogen content.