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

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.