Atmospheric Pressure Plasma CVD of Amorphous Hydrogenated Silicon Carbonitride (a‐SiCN:H) Films Using Triethylsilane and Nitrogen

Abstract

Amorphous hydrogenated silicon carbonitride (a‐SiCN:H) thin films are synthesized by atmospheric pressure plasma enhanced chemical vapor (AP‐PECVD) deposition using the Surfx Atomflow™ 250D APPJ source with triethylsilane (HSiEt3, TES) and nitrogen as the precursor and the reactive gases, respectively. The effect of the substrate temperature (Ts) on the growth characteristics and the properties of a‐SiCN:H films was evaluated. The properties of the films were investigated via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) for surface morphological analyses, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) for chemical and compositional analyses; spectroscopic ellipsometry for optical properties and thickness determination and nanoindentation to determine the mechanical properties of the a‐SiCN:H films. Films deposited at low Ts depict organic like features, while the films deposited at high Ts depict ceramic like features. FTIR and XPS studies reveal that an increases in Ts helps in the elimination of organic moieties and incorporation of nitrogen in the film. Films deposited at Ts of 425 °C have an index of refraction (n) of 1.84 and hardness (H) of 14. 8 GPa. A decrease in the deposition rate between Ts of 25 and 250 °C and increase in deposition rate between Ts of 250 and 425 °C indicate that the growth of a‐SiCN:H films at lower Ts are surface reaction controlled, while at high temperatures film growth is mass‐transport controlled. Based on the experimental results, a potential route for film growth is proposed.

Microwave PECVD Silicon Carbonitride Thin Films: A FTIR and Ellipsoporosimetry Study

“…This shift occurs both at 300 and 500 K and is due to changes of the Si near environment, with carbon atoms being progressively replaced by nitrogen atoms In agreement to previous studies, the shoulder in the range of 1 000–1 100 cm −1 can be attributed to SiOSi stretching or SiCH 2 Si wagging. The main band, centered at ≈950 cm −1 , is more intense for films deposited at 500 K than for those deposited at 300 K, thus revealing higher SiC and SiN bond concentrations in the former case. Conversely, NH, CH, and SiH stretching band are less intense in films deposited at 500 K, revealing lower H concentration.…”

“…For the deconvolution analysis (using Labspec TM software) of the main FTIR absorption band, the criterion of using the lowest number of components was applied. The positions and attributions of the bands are listed in Table . Figure a shows a typical fitting for sample Si3 deposited at 300 K in the range of 1 300–600 cm −1 .…”

Grafting of N‐moieties onto octa‐methyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane microstructures by sequential continuous wave and pulsed plasma

“…The effect of the change in electronic environment is also obvious on the O1s spectra for the plasma treated samples (Figure a–d) compared to the untreated sample. The untreated sample exhibits a single peak at 532.2 eV, corresponding to OSi bonds from O 3 SiCH 3 (Figure a) which is attributed to the cage corner structure . After plasma treatment, the O1s spectra of all treated samples can be divided into three peaks (Figure b–d) at 531.3, 532.8, and 534.1 eV, which correspond to amide (OC), cage structure with methyl group terminal (OSiCH 3 ), and cage structure with modified methyl group terminal (OSiCNH), respectively (the position of peaks are shown in the Table S2) .…”

Synthesis and characterization of organosilicon compounds as novel precursors for CVD processes

“…It should be noted that the additional graphite is presented in the equilibrium phase diagram within the whole investigated P-T region. This problem can be solved by introducing additional hydrogen into the reaction zone or by applying additional activation of a gas phase during CVD process: UV radiation, microwave or radio frequency plasma [28][29][30][31][32]. Table 2 Temperature dependences of the saturated vapor pressure and the thermodynamic characteristics of the evaporation process.…”