Author(s)

Md. Abdul Mannan, Yuji Baba, Norie Hirao, Tetsuya Kida, Masamitsu Nagano, Hideyuki Noguchi

Department of Chemistry and Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Saga University, Saga, Japan.
Department of Chemistry and Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Saga University, Saga, Japan; Synchrotron Radiation Research Unit, Quantum Beam Science Directorate, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Ibaraki, Japan.
Synchrotron Radiation Research Unit, Quantum Beam Science Directorate, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Ibaraki, Japan.

Hexagonal nano-crystalline boron carbonitride (h-BCN) films grown on Si (100) substrate have been precisely investigated. The films were synthesized by radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition using tris-dimethylamino borane as a single-source molecular precursor. The deposition was performed by setting RF power at 400 - 800 W. The reaction pressure was at 2.6 Pa and the substrate temperature was recorded at 700°C - 800°C. Formation of the nano-crystalline h-BCN compound has been confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. The diffraction peaks at 26.3° together with a small unknown peak at 29.2° were elucidated due to the formation of an h-BCN structure. The films composed of B, C, and N atoms with different B-N, B-C, C-N chemical bonds in forming the sp²-BCN atomic configuration studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Orientation and local structures of the h-BCN hybrid were studied by near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) measurements. The dominant presence of p* and s* resonance peaks of the sp²-hybrid orbitals in the B K-edge NEXAFS spectra revealed the formation of the sp²-BCN configuration around B atoms like-BN₃ in h-BN. The orientation was suggested on the basis of the polarization dependence of B K-edge and N K-edge of the NEXAFS spectra.

Nano-Crystalline; h-BCN Films; Synchrotron Radiation; XPS; NEXAFS; Orientation

M. Mannan, Y. Baba, N. Hirao, T. Kida, M. Nagano and H. Noguchi, "Hexagonal Nano-Crystalline BCN Films Grown on Si (100) Substrate Studied by X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy," Materials Sciences and Applications, Vol. 4 No. 5A, 2013, pp. 11-19. doi: 10.4236/msa.2013.45A003.