Photoluminescence from boron-doped titanium nitride nanocomposite thin films prepared by the magnetron sputtering method

Boron-doped titanium nitride (TiBN) thin films with nanosized grains were prepared by a magnetron sputtering method. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy observation indicated that TiBN thin films have a cubic structure with grains ∼5 nm in size. The photoluminescence (PL) of the films was investigated as a function of temperature over a wavelength range of 350-900 nm. Two PL peaks near 3.20 and 2.38 eV were conisdered to have resulted from the recombination of the donor-bound excitons and deep-trap defects with the holes in the valence band, respectively. An energy transfer from bound electrons to deep-trap defects was observed in the nanocomposite thin film.