Crystallinity and Optical Property Analysis of Magnetron Sputtered Carbon Nitride Thin Films

This research explores the synthesis and characterization of carbon nitride (CNx) thin films on copper coated tempered glass substrate through the in-house developed DC magnetron sputtering system at low operating power density of 3.4 W/cm
²
. Carbon nitride, a promising material with diverse applications ranging from optoelectronics to catalysis, has gathered significant attention due to its tunable properties and unique electronic structure. Magnetron sputtering, known for its precision and versatility, offers a controlled deposition method for fabricating CNx thin films. The study systematically investigates the influence of sputtering time at a fixed discharge current on the crystallographic and optical characteristics of the deposited films. Through a comprehensive analysis using techniques like X-ray diffraction, and UV-Vis spectroscopy, we elucidate the impact deposition time on the crystallographic structure, and optical bandgap of the resulting carbon nitride thin films.