Amorphous hydrogenated silicon carbonitride films were produced by remote plasma chemical vapor deposition (RP-CVD) from 1,1,3,3-tetramethyldisilazane (TMDSN) as the single-source compound using a H 2 -N 2 upstream-gas-mixture for plasma generation. The reactivity of particular TMDSN bonds in the RP-CVD initiation step has been examined using a hexamethyldisilazane model compound in the deposition experiments. The active species contributing to RP-CVD were identified by optical emission spectroscopic analysis of the plasma region. The films were examined using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The effect of N 2 content in the H 2 -N 2 upstream-gasmixture on plasma generation of the active species, growth rate, chemical structure, and surface morphology of the resulting films is reported. {Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: deconvoluted emission and IR spectra of a-Si-N-C-H films. See

No abstract

No abstract

The structure, physical, and mechanical properties of amorphous hydrogenated silicon carbonitride films produced by remote hydrogen/nitrogen plasma chemical vapor deposition ͑CVD͒ from 1,1,3,3-tetramethyldisilazane have been investigated. The films deposited at elevated substrate temperature of 300°C and with different content of nitrogen in the hydrogen/nitrogen mixture fed to the plasma were examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The observed changes in the film structure are correlated with the results of optical emission spectroscopy diagnostics of the plasma region. The films' properties are characterized in terms of the density, hardness, elastic modulus, and friction coefficient. The films' resistance to wear is predicted from the slope of hardness-elastic modulus plot. The nitrogen content in the H 2 /N 2 feed gas appears to strongly influence the structure and properties of the films. Using the infrared structural data, reasonable structure-property relationships have been determined.

1,3-bis͑dimethylsilyl͒-2,2,4,4-tetrametyhylcyclodisilazane was used as a single-source precursor for the production of silicon carbonitride ͑SiCN͒ thin-film coatings by remote microwave hydrogen plasma chemical vapor deposition ͑RP-CVD͒. The effect of the substrate temperature ͑T S ͒ on the rate and yield of the RP-CVD process, chemical composition, chemical structure, and surface morphology of the resulting film is reported. The temperature dependencies of the thickness-based growth rate and growth yield of the film imply that for the low substrate temperature range ͑35 ഛ T S Ͻ 200°C͒, film growth is limited by adsorption of film-forming precursors, whereas in the high substrate temperature range ͑200 ഛ T S ഛ 400°C͒, film growth is independent of the temperature and RP-CVD is a mass-transport limited process. The increase of the substrate temperature from 35 to 400°C causes the elimination of organic moieties from the film and the formation of the Si-C network, which contains incorporated N-silylsubstituted cyclodisilazane molecular skeletons of the precursor linked with the network via the Si-C bonds. The microscopic examination revealed that the films are defect-free materials of excellent morphological homogeneity and exhibit small surface roughness, which vary in a narrow range of values. The SiCN films deposited at various substrate temperatures were characterized in terms of their density, adhesion to a substrate, hardness, elastic modulus, and friction coefficient. The film properties are strongly influenced by the compositional and structural parameters represented, respectively, by the contents of nitrogen and Si-C bonds; the latter described by the relative integrated intensity of the Si-C infrared band. The reasonable relationships between the film properties and the mentioned compositional and structural parameters have been determined.

Silicon carbonitride (Si:C:N) films are produced by hydrogen remote microwave plasma (RP)CVD using a 1,1,3,3-tetramethyldisilazane precursor. The effect of the substrate temperature on the rate and yield of the hydrogen RPCVD process, chemical composition, chemical structure, and surface morphology of the resulting film are investigated. The Arrhenius plots of the substrate temperature dependencies of the mass-and thickness-based growth rate and growth yield of Si:C:N film imply that RPCVD is controlled by the adsorption of film-forming precursors onto the growth surface. The results of Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) examinations reveal that the increase in substrate temperature from 35°C to 400°C involves the elimination of organic groups from the film and the formation of a silicon carbonitride network structure with a predominant content of Si-C carbidic bonds. The atomic force microscopy (AFM) results show that the films are morphologically homogeneous materials of surface roughness varying in a narrow range of small values (0.9 -2.0 nm).

No abstract

Amorphous hydrogenated silicon carbide (a-SiC:H) films are produced by remote microwave hydrogen plasma (RHP)CVD using triethylsilane (TrES) as the single-source precursor. The reactivity of particular bonds of the precursor in the activation step is examined using tetraethylsilane as a model compound for the RHP-CVD experiments. The susceptibility of a TrES precursor towards film formation is characterized by determining the yield of RHP-CVD and comparing it with that of the trimethylsilane precursor. The effect of substrate temperature (T s ) on the rate of the RHP-CVD process, chemical composition, and chemical structure of the resulting a-SiC:H films is reported. The substrate temperature dependence of the film growth rate implies that film growth is independent of the temperature and RHP-CVD is a mass transport-limited process. The examination of the a-SiC:H films, performed by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), elastic recoil detection analysis (ERDA), and Fourier transform infrared absorption spectroscopy (FTIR), reveals that the increase in the substrate temperature from 30 -C to 400 -C causes the elimination of organic moieties from the film and the formation of a Si-carbidic network structure. On the basis of the results of the structural study, the chemistry involved in film formation is proposed.