Chemical bonding structural analysis of nitrogen-doped ultrananocrystalline diamond/hydrogenated amorphous carbon composite films prepared by coaxial arc plasma deposition

Nitrogen-doped ultra-nanocrystalline diamond/hydrogenated amorphous carbon composite films prepared in hydrogen and nitrogen mixed-gas atmospheres by coaxial arc plasma deposition with graphite targets were studied electrically and chemical-bonding-structurally. The electrical conductivity was increased by nitrogen doping, accompanied by the production of n-type conduction. From X-ray photoemission, near-edge X-ray absorption fine-structure, hydrogen forward-scattering, and Fourier transform infrared spectral results, it is expected that hydrogen atoms that terminate diamond grain boundaries will be partially replaced by nitrogen atoms and, consequently, φ C-N and C=N bonds that easily generate free electrons will be formed at grain boundaries.