In situ photoelectron spectroscopy study of TiCxNy films synthesized through reactive ion beam mixing

Oxygen-free TiCxNy films have been prepared using the reactive ion beam mixing technique. A 400 Angstrom thick film of Ti was deposited on a float glass substrate and then coated with a 80 A Carbon layer. These bilayer structures were irradiated by 4 keV nitrogen ions for different nitrogen doses. In situ core level x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements were carried out to characterize these films. XPS results revealed that after nitrogen ion bombardment a sufficient amount of nitrogen was introduced in the Ti/C bilayer. On the basis of the binding energy parameters of the Ti 2p, N 1s and C 1s core levels and their shifts from the elemental position, the formation of compound TiCxNy near the surface is confirmed. The XPS result of formation of TiCxNy is supported by x-ray diffraction measurements.