Atomic arrangement, composition and orientation of hexagonal BCN films synthesized by radiofrequency plasma enhanced CVD

Abstract

Oriented hexagonal BCN films were synthesized on Si (1 0 0) substrate by radiofrequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition using tris-(dimethylamino)borane as a precursor. The formation of the crystalline hexagonal BCN hybrids was confirmed by FT-IR and XRD. CH₄ + H₂ carrier gas increased the C content in the films in comparison with N₂ carrier gas. XPS measurement showed that the films were composed of a variety of B-N, B-C, C-N bonds to form the BCN atomic hybrids. The π* resonance peak in the B K-edge NEXAFS spectra also indicated the presence of the sp² hybrid configuration of B-C-N bonds like BN₃ in h-BN. The σ* resonance peaks suggested the diversity in the σ bonds in the films. Orientation of the h-BCN hybrids was suggested on the basis of the polarization dependence of NEXAFS.