Effects of post‐deposition annealing on chemical composition of SiN_x film in SiO₂/SiN_x/SiO₂/Si stacked structure

Abstract

To systematically evaluate the quality of SiNx films in multi‐stacked structures, we investigated the effects of post‐deposition annealing (PDA) on the film properties of SiNx within the SiO2/SiNx/SiO2/Si stacked structure by performing X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X‐ray reflectivity (XRR), Fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR) spectroscopy, and scanning transmission electron microscope–electron energy loss spectroscopy (STEM‐EELS) analyses. The XPS results showed that PDA induces the oxidation of the SiNx layer. In particular, new finding is that Si‐rich SiNx in the SiNx layer is preferentially oxidized by PDA even in multi‐stacked structure. The XRR results showed that the SiNx layer becomes thinner, whereas the interface layer between the SiNx layer and Si becomes thicker. It is concluded by STEM‐EELS and XPS that this interface layer is SiON layer. The density of N–H and Si–H bonding within the stacked structure strongly depends on the PDA temperature. Our study helps elucidate the properties of SiNx films in stacked structures from various perspectives.

UV-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Dye Degradation and Antibacterial Potentials of Biosynthesized SiO2 Nanoparticles

“…The carbon peaks which are composed of C-C, C-O, C-H and C=O in Figure 6d are mainly due to the contamination of the environmental air because XRP is a quantitative technique that is very surface sensitive. The detailed scan of a Si atom in the SiO 2 nanoparticles is located at 104 eV, revealing the Si-2p state [66,67]. The O-1s peak located at 533 eV reveals the lattice oxygen that is attached to the Si-2p state.…”

“…15, x FOR PEER REVIEW 9 of 20 detailed scan of a Si atom in the SiO2 nanoparticles is located at 104 eV, revealing the Si-2p state[66,67]. The O-1s peak located at 533 eV reveals the lattice oxygen that is attached to the Si-2p state.…”