Highly Reliable Silicon Nitride Thin Films Made by Jet Vapor Deposition

Abstract

Results of the investigations carried out on the electrical behaviour of discontinuous silver films deposited on poly(2-vinylpyridine) (PVP) coated substrates held at temperatures in the range 410-475 K in a vacuum of 8 × 10 −6 Torr are reported. Both the resistance immediately after deposition and the room temperature resistance show a regular dependence on thickness, for films deposited at a substrate temperature of 425 K. The films deposited at this temperature show almost zero temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) near room temperature, whereas films deposited at higher temperatures show large negative TCR and the magnitude of TCR decreases with increasing thickness. The films show an irreversible increase of resistance during exposure to atmosphere beyond a pressure of about 5 × 10 −2 Torr. A film deposited on PVP held at room temperature is more sensitive to exposure. The reduced aging in vacuum following deposition and improved stability against exposure to atmosphere of the films deposited on PVP at 425 K, in comparison with the film deposited on a rigid substrate, suggest the formation of subsurface particulate silver films. This can account for the high resistance observed, even for a 2000Å thick film deposited on softened PVP substrates.

Silicon nitride films deposited at substrate temperatures <100 °C in a permanent magnet electron cyclotron resonance plasma

“…Silicon, silicon nitride, and silicon oxide films have been deposited at temperatures Ͻ300°C in downstream plasma reactors 3,4 conventional RF-PECVD systems, 5 as well as divergent field electromagnet 6,7 and distributed electron cyclotron resonance ͑ECR͒ configurations. 8 Lower temperature tends to lead to higher H content and lower density, however.…”

Ferroelectric 1-T memory device—will it be viable for nonvolatile memory applications?

“…A JVD silicon nitride layer (2-6nm) was deposited on a pre-cleaned silicon wafer by a procedure described previously [14], a post-deposition anneal was performed at 800 °C in nitrogen for 30 minutes. A SrBi 2 Ta 2 O 9 (SBT) film (240-280nm) was then deposited on top of the nitride buffer layer by the spin-on method using a pre-synthesized MOD (Metal-Organic-Deposition) solution and subsequently annealed under an optimal annealing condition in oxygen for one hour.…”

Application of Supersonic Molecular Jets in Semiconductor Thin Film Growth

“…105,106 A coaxial set of nozzles, with SiH 4 seeded in He in the inner nozzle and N 2 seeded in He in the outer nozzle in combination with a microwave discharge was used. 107,108 The reactive Si and N species were carried by the jet to a silicon substrate at room temperature. The SiH 4 /He and N 2 / He ratios and the total flow rates were found to critically affect the film properties.…”