Production of nitrogen-containing carbon plasma using shunting arc discharge for carbon nitride films preparation

A magnetically driven carbon-shunting arc discharge was generated in nitrogen gas circumstance and amorphous carbon nitride (a-CNx) films were prepared using the induced plasma. A silicon substrate was immersed into the plasma, and a series of pulse voltage was applied to the substrate synchronizing with a ignition of the shunting arc with a peak current of 1.7 kA. The ambient nitrogen gas pressure was varied from 2x10^-2 to 2 Pa. The shunting arc plasma was successfully produced and was accelerated along carbon rails. Heating energy to generate the shunting arc had minimum value for variation of the ambient gas pressure. A spectroscopic measurement from the plasma light emission showed that the produced plasma contained nitrogen particles in ambient nitrogen gas circumstance. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis showed that the prepared carbon films contained nitrogen and was obtained to be N/C ratio of 0.35 at 2 Pa nitrogen gas pressure.