The effect of hydrogen on $Cu3N$ thin films deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering

The $Cu3N$ films were synthesized at room temperature by radio frequency magnetron sputtering in various $H2+N2$ mixture atmosphere on a glass substrate. The introduction of hydrogen promoted the crystallization of $Cu3N$ distinctly, and the optimized growth of (100) plane was strong. Compared to the films with no hydrogen introduced, the electrical resistivity decreased by several magnitudes and the optical energy gap decreased notably too. A conspicuous improvement of electrical and optical properties was achieved, but the surface morphology did not gain any modification; on the contrary, the introduction of hydrogen engendered the protuberances on the surface of the films. The thermal stability was investigated by heating the films in vacuum chamber at different temperatures. The films decomposed at $150°C$ initially and at $250°C$ entirely; the thermal stability is not as good as $Cu3N$ films with no hydrogen included. The films were characterized by x-ray diffraction, UV-visible spectrum, four-point probe, and field emission scanning electron microscope method.