Identification of ternary boron–carbon–nitrogen hexagonal phases by x-ray absorption spectroscopy

Boron carbon nitride (BCN) films have been grown by B4C evaporation with concurrent N2+ ion assistance, and have been characterized by x-ray absorption near edge (XANES) spectroscopy. Upon the nitrogen insertion, the film structure evolves from BxC-like to h-BN-like. The hexagonal structure corresponds to a true ternary BCN compound that can be understood as h-BN with carbon incorporated in substitutional sites. The C(1s)XANES presents π* states characteristic of the BCN arrangement. The basal planes of the h-BCN phase are oriented perpendicular to the substrate, as derived from the angle dependence of the XANES signal.