A comparison of the mechanical stability of silicon nitride films deposited with various techniques

Morin, P.; Raymond, G.; Benoît, Daniel; Maury, P.; Beneyton, R.

doi:10.1016/j.apsusc.2012.04.003

Cited by 37 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Both deposition techniques utilize commonly SiH4/NH3, SiH4/N2 or SiCl2H2/NH3 precursor combinations for the formation of SiNx [10][11][12] . Such H-rich precursors, together with comparatively low substrate temperatures, result in H contents as high as 30 at.% in the SiNx coatings.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

SiN_x Coatings Deposited by Reactive High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering: Process Parameters Influencing the Nitrogen Content

Schmidt

Hänninen

Goyenola

et al. 2016

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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Reactive high power impulse magnetron sputtering (rHiPIMS) was used to deposit silicon nitride (SiNx) coatings for bio-medical applications. The SiNx growth and plasma characterization were conducted in an industrial coater, using Si targets and N2 as reactive gas. The effects of different N2-toAr flow ratios between 0 and 0.3, pulse frequencies, target power settings and substrate temperatures on the discharge and the N content of SiNx coatings were investigated. Plasma ion mass spectrometry shows high amounts of ionized isotopes during the initial part of the pulse for discharges with low N2-to-Ar flow ratios of < 0.16, while signals from ionized molecules rise with the N2-to-Ar flow ratio at the pulse end and during pulse-off times. Langmuir probe measurements show electron temperatures between 2 -3 eV for non-reactive discharges and 5.0 to 6.6 eV for discharges in transition mode. The SiNx coatings were characterized with respect to their composition, chemical bond structure, density and mechanical properties by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray reflectivity, X-ray diffraction, and nanoindentation, respectively. The SiNx deposition processes and coating properties are mainly influenced by the N2-to-Ar flow ratio and thus by the N content in the SiNx films and to a lower extent by the HiPIMS frequencies and power settings as well as substrate temperatures. Increasing N2-to-Ar flow ratios lead to decreasing growth rates, while the N contents, coating densities, residual stresses and the hardnesses increase. These experimental findings were corroborated by density functional theory calculations of precursor species present during rHiPIMS.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

SiN_x Coatings Deposited by Reactive High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering: Process Parameters Influencing the Nitrogen Content

Schmidt

Hänninen

Goyenola

et al. 2016

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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“…Similarly, the Poisson's ratio of ultrathin film calculated by Equation 21does not require previous calculation of the Young's and shear moduli of film and substrate. These findings are particularly of value in testing of micro-/nano-electronic devices, where in order to prevent their mechanical failure, it is of emergent importance to know the material properties of designed ultrathin films [45]. It shall be pointed out that the present method can be also extended to determine, in addition to elastic properties and density, the ultrathin film thickness.…”

Section: Methods Of Determining Materials Properties Density and Genementioning

confidence: 94%

Simple Non-Destructive Method of Ultrathin Film Material Properties and Generated Internal Stress Determination Using Microcantilevers Immersed in Air

Stachiv

Gan

2019

Coatings

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Recent progress in nanotechnology has enabled to design the advanced functional micro-/nanostructures utilizing the unique properties of ultrathin films. To ensure these structures can reach the expected functionality, it is necessary to know the density, generated internal stress and the material properties of prepared films. Since these films have thicknesses of several tens of nm, their material properties, including density, significantly deviate from the known bulk values. As such, determination of ultrathin film material properties requires usage of highly sophisticated devices that are often expensive, difficult to operate, and time consuming. Here, we demonstrate the extraordinary capability of a microcantilever commonly used in a conventional atomic force microscope to simultaneously measure multiple material properties and internal stress of ultrathin films. This procedure is based on detecting changes in the static deflection, flexural and torsional resonant frequencies, and the corresponding quality factors of the microcantilever vibrating in air before and after film deposition. In contrast to a microcantilever in vacuum, where the quality factor depends on the combination of multiple different mechanical energy losses, in air the quality factor is dominated just by known air damping, which can be precisely controlled by changing the air pressure. Easily accessible expressions required to calculate the ultrathin film density, the Poisson’s ratio, and the Young’s and shear moduli from measured changes in the microcantilever resonant frequencies, and quality factors are derived. We also show that the impact of uncertainties on determined material properties is only minor. The validity and potential of the present procedure in material testing is demonstrated by (i) extracting the Young’s modulus of atomic-layer-deposited TiO2 films coated on a SU-8 microcantilever from observed changes in frequency response and without requirement of knowing the film density, and (ii) comparing the shear modulus and density of Si3N4 films coated on the silicon microcantilever obtained numerically and by present method.

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“…1) Process Simulation: First, the mechanical state of the structure is determined by modeling device fabrication using Sentaurus Process 2D simulations [11]. The intrinsic stress of the passivation layer (σ SiN ) is varied from −2 GPa compressive to +2 GPa tensile to reflect achievable experimental range [5]. A multi-layer deposition scheme consisting in 20 deposition steps is employed for accurate modeling of the mechanical impact of SiN film in the gate region [12].…”

Section: B Simulation Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has been recently proposed that local relaxation of unintentionally stressed SiN passivation can directly alter the threshold voltage (V TH ) of HEMTs through piezoelectric polarization-induced charge density generation in the gate area [3], [4]. By adjusting the plasmaenhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) conditions of SiN, the amplitude and the sign of the intrinsic stress of the film can be controlled [5]. Although normally-OFF devices based solely on SiN stress effect may be designed, they would require agressive scaling of the parameters (stress, thickness) of the film as well as using ultra-short gate lengths, such that this may not be experimentally realistic [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local stress engineering for the optimization of p-GaN gate HEMTs power devices

Cosnier

Lucci

Torres

et al. 2017

2017 International Conference on Simulation of Semiconductor Processes and Devices (SISPAD)

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The impact of the built-in stress of the SiN passivation layer on p-GaN gate High Electron Mobility transistors (HEMTs) is investigated through TCAD simulations. Local modifications of electron confinement in the channel area due to stressor deposition can be exploited to increase the threshold voltage independently of the ON-state resistance (up to +1.5 V for tSiN = 200 nm, σSiN = −2 GPa and LG = 0.2 µm). This technique can also be easily combined with an AlGaN backbarrier structure to increase the design margin of p-GaN gate normally-OFF HEMTs.

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A comparison of the mechanical stability of silicon nitride films deposited with various techniques

Cited by 37 publications

References 28 publications

SiN_x Coatings Deposited by Reactive High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering: Process Parameters Influencing the Nitrogen Content

SiN_x Coatings Deposited by Reactive High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering: Process Parameters Influencing the Nitrogen Content

Simple Non-Destructive Method of Ultrathin Film Material Properties and Generated Internal Stress Determination Using Microcantilevers Immersed in Air

Local stress engineering for the optimization of p-GaN gate HEMTs power devices

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A comparison of the mechanical stability of silicon nitride films deposited with various techniques

Cited by 37 publications

References 28 publications

SiNx Coatings Deposited by Reactive High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering: Process Parameters Influencing the Nitrogen Content

SiNx Coatings Deposited by Reactive High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering: Process Parameters Influencing the Nitrogen Content

Simple Non-Destructive Method of Ultrathin Film Material Properties and Generated Internal Stress Determination Using Microcantilevers Immersed in Air

Local stress engineering for the optimization of p-GaN gate HEMTs power devices

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

SiN_x Coatings Deposited by Reactive High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering: Process Parameters Influencing the Nitrogen Content

SiN_x Coatings Deposited by Reactive High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering: Process Parameters Influencing the Nitrogen Content