Physical Properties of the SiC_xN_yH_z Films

Abstract

The SiCxNyHz Films Were Prepared by PECVD Method Using Organosilicon Volatile Compound Hexamethyldisilazane as a Precursor. Some Important Physical and Chemical Properties Were Studied by the Complex of Modern Physical Methods. It Was Shown that at Low Deposition Temperatures the Films Contain the Chemical Bonds of Organic Nature and Have Low Values of Young’s Modulus, Refractive Index and Density. They Possess High Elasticity which Indicates to their Polymeric-Like Structure. At Higher Deposition Temperatures the Films Are Inorganic Composite Materials Consisting of Amorphous Part and Nanocrystals of Graphite and Silicon Nitride. Decrease in Optical Band Gap and Coefficient of Thermal Expansion Is Observed with Deposition Temperature Increase.

Scanning probe microscopy and nanoindentation studies of silicon carbonitride films obtained by PECVD from hexamethyldisilazane

“…The opposite situation takes place at high deposition temperatures, when considerable fraction of plastic deformation was observed ( fig.3). The obtained result proves our conclusion, made on the basis of stress measurements in [8]. There, we have found insensitivity of the stress to the changes of mechanical load in the synthesis temperature range of 100-400 °C.…”

“…Note, that NI Young's modulus is in good agreement with Surface Acoustic Waves Spectroscopy (SAWS) [19] data, obtained for the same films in [8], when deposition temperature is low. At higher temperatures, there is some discrepancy of the values.…”

“…We have also obtained several values from substrate curvature (stress) measurements at temperatures 500°C and higher [7]. The reason for such limitation in temperature range was described in [8]. These values are lower than that obtained by NI ( fig.4a).…”

“…So in this respect, data on their roughness and hardness are very important. In our earlier publications, a variety of chemical and physical properties of PECVD SiC x N y H z films was presented for different parameters of the deposition process [4][5][6][7][8]. This work represents new data on the behavior of surface roughness, elastic recovery and hardness of the PECVD SiC x N y H z films under a wide range of deposition temperatures.…”