An intense nitrogen atom beam source of simple construction, with easy handling and maintenance was built and tested. Nitrogen atom beams with an intensity estimated to be1019atom/sr s and with an average kinetic energy of 0.8–2 eV in the forward direction were obtained. This novel atom source can be successfully ignited using pure nitrogen gas and operated stably during several hours of continuous performance. The temperature-rise effect of calorimetric sensors due to the bombardment of the N atom beam was used to analyze the intensities and kinetic energies of nitrogen atom beams. The emission spectra from the arc also show that a high concentration of atomic nitrogen was produced using this source. Experiments such as the nitrogen atom beams interacting with substrates to form a TiON film and a carbon nitride film indicate the high concentration of atomic nitrogen in the beam. ©1997 American Institute of Physics.