Highly moisture-resistive silicon nitride films prepared by catalytic chemical vapor deposition and application to gallium arsenide field-effect transistors

Various applications of silicon nitride by catalytic chemical vapor deposition for coating, passivation and insulating films

“…A low overall stress of several tens of MPa is also obtained in some conditions [10]. It was reported that the concentration of H atoms in the gas phase for the Cat-CVD process is much higher than that for the plasma-enhanced CVD (PECVD) process [11].…”

“…One of the most promising applications is passivation of compound-semiconductor devices. Passivation for GaAsbased transistors has been extensively studied for highelectron mobility transistors (HEMTs) [12] and field-effect transistors (FETs) [10,13]. The increase in sheet resistance for a two-dimensional electron-gas (2DEG) layer in HEMTs after SiN x passivation by Cat-CVD is only 1.5%, whereas that by PECVD is 12.4% [12].…”

“…The increase in sheet resistance for a two-dimensional electron-gas (2DEG) layer in HEMTs after SiN x passivation by Cat-CVD is only 1.5%, whereas that by PECVD is 12.4% [12]. From the drain-currentdrain-voltage (I d -V d ) characteristics for self-aligned gate FETs (SAGFETs) with passivation films by Cat-CVD or PECVD, it was found that the mutual conductance is improved from 15 mS to 22 mS using Cat-CVD instead of PECVD [10]. GaAs devices are easily damaged by charged particles in the plasma.…”

Protection of organic light-emitting diodes over 50000 hours by Cat-CVD SiNx/SiOxNy stacked thin films

“…Silicon nitride (SiN x ) films prepared by catalytic chemical vapor deposition (Cat-CVD) method, which can be performed under 100°C without thermal damage to OLEDs, are expected to act as protection films for OLEDs due to the high film density [3][4][5][6]. However, moisture and oxygen can reach organic layers through cracks penetrating the SiN x films caused by roughness of underlying organic films or electrodes, which generates dark spots in OLEDs [7].…”

Coverage properties of SiNx films prepared by catalytic chemical vapor deposition on trenched substrates below 80 °C

“…SiN x films prepared by Cat-CVD are more chemically stable, optically transparent and moisture-resistive compared to those prepared by plasma-enhanced CVD [1]. In Cat-CVD processes, source gas molecules are decomposed by catalytic cracking reactions on a heated catalyzer placed near the substrate [2].…”