Formation of Nitride Cu₃N by MeV N-Ion Implantation into Cu

Experimental evidences are presented to show the formation of nitride, Cu₃N, in pure Cu sample by N-ion implantation. This result is obtained in the case of MeV ion implantation. Previous experiments showed that this compound can not be formed by N-ion implantation into Cu at incident energy of about 100 keV. This finding indicates there exist certain differences in phase formation by ion implantation at the two energies.