Abstract
The influence of ion assistance on electrical and structural properties of a-C:N films was studied by electron energy loss spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron spectroscopy, electron diffraction and four-probe conductivity measurements. It was shown that ion assistance in nitrogen atmosphere led to the significant decrease in electrical resistivity of the films. This effect was explained by the formation of nanographite clusters induced by nitrogen. The lowest value of room-temperature electrical resistivity of the films was observed at 400 eV ion assistance energy. This minimum was found to be defined by two competing processes affecting films conductivity in opposite ways: with the assistance energy increase, the fraction of sp2-hybridized carbon atoms raised, but the nanocluster size decreased.
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