X-Ray absorption studies of boron–carbon–nitrogen (BxCyNz) ternary alloys

X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and B, N and C K-edges X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) measurements have been performed to study the BxCyNz ternary compounds. XRD reveals that the films contain carbon nitride, boron carbide, and boron nitride compounds. The combination of B, N and C K-edges XANES results reveal the presence of BN, BC, NC, and CN local bonding structures in BxCyNz, indicating that boron–carbon–nitride thin films have a ternary phase, rather than a mixture of segregated binary phases.