Deposition of Amorphous CN_x Materials in BrCN Plasmas: Exploring Adhesion Behavior as an Indicator of Film Properties

Adhesion and delamination behavior of amorphous carbon nitride (a-CN(x)) is critical to development of wear resistant materials and protective coatings. Here, the composition and delamination behavior of a-CN(x) films was explored utilizing BrCN, CH₃CN, and CH₄ as film precursors, either alone or in combination with one another. Film delamination depends on film thickness and plasma composition as well as post deposition treatment conditions. Delamination is not observed with films deposited from 100% CH₃CN discharges, whereas films of similar thickness deposited from 100% BrCN plasmas delaminate almost immediately upon exposure to atmosphere. Exploration of these differences in delamination behavior is discussed relative to contributions of humidity, hydrocarbon species, and ion bombardment during deposition in conjunction with compositional studies using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).