Atmospheric-Pressure Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition of a-SiCN:H Films: Role of Precursors on the Film Growth and Properties

Abstract

Atmospheric pressure plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (AP-PECVD) using Surfx Atomflow(TM) 250D APPJ was utilized to synthesize amorphous silicon carbonitride coatings using tetramethyldisilizane (TMDZ) and hexamethyldisilizane (HMDZ) as the single source precursors. The effect of precursor chemistry and substrate temperature (T(s)) on the properties of a-SiCN:H films were evaluated, while nitrogen was used as the reactive gas. Surface morphology of the films was evaluated using atomic force microscopy (AFM); chemical properties were determined using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR); thickness and optical properties were determined using spectroscopic ellipsometry and mechanical properties were determined using nanoindentation. In general, films deposited at substrate temperature (T(s)) < 200 °C contained organic moieties, while the films deposited at T(s) > 200 °C depicted strong Si-N and Si-CN absorption. Refractive indices (n) of the thin films showed values between 1.5 and 2.0, depending on the deposition parameters. Mechanical properties of the films determined using nanoindentation revealed that these films have hardness between 0.5 GPa and 15 GPa, depending on the T(s) value. AFM evaluation of the films showed high roughness (R(a)) values of 2-3 nm for the films grown at low T(s) (<250 °C) while the films grown at T(s) ≥ 300 °C exhibited atomically smooth surface with R(a) of ~0.5 nm. Based on the gas-phase (plasma) chemistry, precursor chemistry and the other experimental observations, a possible growth model that prevails in the AP-PECVD of a-SiCN:H thin films 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 .…”

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.…”

Synthesis and photoluminescence property of silicon carbide nanowires thin film by HF-PECVD system

“…Due to the wide band gap property, SiC is becoming a promising candidate for short wavelength light emitters, detecting devices and biosensors (Pauschitz et al 2000;Borowiak et al 2005;Fan et al 2006;Chen et al 2008). Generally, bulk SiC is not a good light applicable source to nano-optoelectronic integration on account of its indirect band gap (Fang et al 2012;Fernandez et al 2012;Guruvenket et al 2012). But various SiC nanostructures possess excellent photoluminescence (PL) property.…”