Characterization of low temperature SiO2 and Si3N4 films deposited by plasma enhanced evaporation

Abstract

SiO2 and Si3N4 films have been deposited at low temperatures by a new plasma enhanced evaporation process. The films are stoichiometric and have hydrogen contents below 1 at. %. For the electrical characterization metal–insulator–semiconductor diodes were fabricated and investigated before and after annealing in H2/N2 atmosphere at 430 °C. Ellipsometric and capacitance–voltage measurements yield the dielectric constants which agree well with the theoretical values. From conductance–voltage characteristics the silicon–insulator interface state density Dit was determined. After annealing Dit amounts to 2×1011 eV−1 cm−2 for Si3N4 and to 8×1010 eV−1 cm−2 for SiO2. In addition, the bulk resistivity and the surface resistivity of the deposited films were measured and compared with the values for films grown by conventional high temperature processes.

Mechanical and electrical properties of DC magnetron sputter deposited amorphous silicon nitride thin films

“…Most studies concluded that the conduction mechanisms in thin SiN x films are bulk-controlled [17,23,24], while some have found indications for space-charge-limited conduction (SCLC) [25], or field emission [26].…”

Electrical properties of metal–insulator–semiconductor structures with silicon nitride dielectrics deposited by low temperature plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition distributed electron cyclotron resonance

“…This is about the same as generally found in production grade Si 3 N 4 /Si interfaces formed by the thermal LPCVD deposition of silicon nitride at temperatures in the range of 750 to 850°C. 38 Figure 7 displays the high frequency C -V characteristics of Al/SiN x :H/InP samples with PMA carried out at different temperatures for 45 min in forming gas. There are significant differences between the C -V characteristics of these structures and those shown in Fig.…”

Characterization and versatile applications of low hydrogen content SiOCN grown by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

“…Although comparison to other film resistivities is clouded by the variations in measurement and film preparation techniques, the low bias resistivities measured in this work compare with that of thermally grown SiO 2 , which also has reported values of 10 15 -10 17 Xcm. [55][56][57] The leakage current at larger biases, however, is significantly impacted by the efficacy of hydrogen's ability to break weak bonds, as is shown in the current density versus electric field (J-E) curves in Figures 8(a) and 8(b) for silaneand TMS-based films, respectively. The quasi-saturation in current density observed in lower deposition temperatures, resulting in the ledge-shape of the curve, is a result of charge trapping.…”