The amorphous phase of hydrogenated carbon nitride, a-CNx:H (0 ≦x ≦1), films may have clusters consisting of a mixture of sp2- and sp3-hybridized materials with cluster sizes of 0.2–2 nm. The hydrogen termination limits the size of the carbon and carbon nitride clusters. It also influences the mechanical properties of the sample. In this experiment, the relationship between the hydrogen content and the mechanical properties of carbon and related materials was investigated using elastic recoil detection analysis (ERDA), nanoindentation techniques and Raman spectroscopy. The samples were classified into three categories of hardness: mechanically soft a-CNx:H (hardness: 1–8 GPa), mechanically hard a-CNx:H (8–30 GPa) and hard hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) (more than 30 GPa). The hydrogen contents of the sample were 10–50 at.%, 5–40 at.%, and less than 3 at.% for soft a-CNx:H, hard a-CNx:H and hard a-C:H, respectively.
[1]
H. Saitoh,et al.
Dehydrogenation of Nitrogen-Containing Carbon Films by High-Energy He2+ Irradiation
,
2001
.
[2]
H. Saitoh,et al.
Nano-Indentation for Structural Analysis of Hydrogen- and Nitrogen-Containing Carbon Films
,
2000
.
[3]
H. Saitoh,et al.
SOLID SOLUBILITY OF NITROGEN IN AMORPHOUS CARBON FILMS DEPOSITED IN ELECTRON CYCLOTRON RESONANCE PLASMA
,
1998
.
[4]
C. Lieber,et al.
Nitrogen driven structural transformation in carbon nitride materials
,
1998
.
[5]
S. Ohshio,et al.
Indentation Creep of Nitrogen-Containing Carbon Films
,
1996
.