Summary: SiOxCyHz films are deposited by radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) using a mixture of HMDSO and oxygen as source gases. The gas phase species produced in HMDSO and HMDSO/O2 plasmas are investigated by optical emission spectroscopy (OES) and mass spectrometry (MS). These data reveal that oxygen dilution causes strong dissociation of the HMDSO monomer. The film composition was investigated with X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier‐transform infrared (FT‐IR) spectroscopy. Low O2 dilution (≤50%) results in the deposition of polymer‐like SiOxCyHz films while higher O2 dilution (≥80%) results in the deposition of inorganic SiO2‐like films. Surface energy measurements show that the SiO2 films have higher surface energy than the polymer‐like SiOxCyHz films. Deposition rates are measured with variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry and are strongly dependent on the percentage of O2 dilution in the feed mixture.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.