Growth of aligned CNx nanocolumns on silicon by RF-magnetron sputtering

We have synthesized, by means of RF-magnetron sputtering technique, a new kind of aligned C-based nanostructures, with a columnar shape. We found that they grow on both Si and SiO2 surfaces and that a considerable amount of nitrogen, introduced during the deposition process, is contained in the nanostructures and determines the columnar shape, as shown by structural and chemical characterization techniques. Each of these structures is quite disordered and no ordering is observed after thermal processes.