  We studied the growth behavior, structural, electronic, and magnetic
properties of cobalt nitride (Co-N) thin films deposited using direct current
(dc) and high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) processes. The N$_2$
partial gas flow (\pn) was varied in close intervals to achieve the optimum
conditions for the growth of tetra cobalt nitride (\tcn) phase. We found that
Co-N films grown using HiPIMS process adopt (111) orientation as compared to
the growth taking place along the (100) direction in the dcMS process. It was
observed that HiPIMS grown Co-N~films were superior in terms of crystallite
size and uniform surface morphology. The local structure of films was
investigated using x-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) measurements. We
found that the high energy of adatoms in the HiPIMS technique assisted in the
greater stabilization of fcc-Co and novel \tcn~phase relative to the dcMS
process. Magnetic properties of Co-N thin films were studied using
magneto-optical Kerr effect, vibrating sample magnetometry and polarized
neutron reflectivity. It was found that though the saturation magnetization
remains almost similar in films grown by dcMS or HiPIMS processes, they differ
in terms of their magnetic anisotropy. Such variation can be understood in
terms of differences in the growth mechanisms in dcMS and HiPIMS processes
affecting the local structure of resulting \tcn~phase.
