Influence of carbon content and nitrogen vacancies on the bonding structure and mechanical performance of graphite-like BC{sub x}N thin films
- Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM-CSIC), Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid (Spain)
X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) was used to investigate two sets of graphite-like BC{sub x}N thin films with similar B:C:N ratios but different amounts of nitrogen vacancies, which become oxygen-filled in the surface-most region. The two sets of samples were grown on Si (100) at room temperature by ion beam assisted deposition using two different ion/atom ratios. Nitrogen vacancy defects were detected in the B1s XANES spectra due to an oxygen decoration mechanism taking place at the film surface, which is correctly described by a core-level shift model. Analysis of the O1s XANES spectra showed two different types of oxygen incorporation in the samples under study. The tribomechanical properties of the BC{sub x}N samples were tested by the pin-on-disk technique, revealing the substantial role played by both the carbon intake in the hexagonal BCN planes and the concentration of nitrogen vacancies generated during the growth.
- OSTI ID:
- 22089453
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 112, Issue 6; Other Information: (c) 2012 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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