Plasma-enhanced growth and composition of silicon oxynitride films

Denisse, C. M. M.; Troost, Kars; Elferink, J. B. Oude; Habraken, F.H.P.M.; Weg, W. F. van der; Hendriks, M.

doi:10.1063/1.337117

Cited by 94 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…21 For SiO x N y H z films, many authors find a dominant absorption band, with a single maximum located at intermediate frequencies between those of SiO 2 and Si 3 N 4 . 1,[11][12][13]30,45,46 This behavior is characteristic of singlephase homogeneous SiO x N y H z and its bonding structure is well described by the RBM previously explained ͓see Eq. ͑3͔͒.…”

mentioning

confidence: 75%

Optical and structural properties of SiOxNyHz films deposited by electron cyclotron resonance and their correlation with composition

Prado

Andrés

Mártil

et al. 2003

Journal of Applied Physics

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SiO x N y H z films were deposited from O 2 , N 2 , and SiH 4 gas mixtures at room temperature using the electron cyclotron resonance plasma method. The absolute concentrations of all the species present in the films ͑Si, O, N, and H͒ were measured with high precision by heavy-ion elastic recoil detection analysis. The composition of the films was controlled over the whole composition range by adjusting the precursor gases flow ratio during deposition. The relative incorporation of O and N is determined by the ratio Qϭ(O 2 )/(SiH 4 ) and the relative content of Si is determined by R ϭ͓(O 2 )ϩ(N 2 )͔/(SiH 4 ) where (SiH 4 ), (O 2 ), and (N 2 ) are the SiH 4 , O 2 , and N 2 gas flows, respectively. The optical properties ͑infrared absorption and refractive index͒ and the density of paramagnetic defects were analyzed in dependence on the film composition. Single-phase homogeneous films were obtained at low SiH 4 partial pressure during deposition; while those samples deposited at high SiH 4 partial pressure show evidence of separation of two phases. The refractive index was controlled over the whole range between silicon nitride and silicon oxide, with values slightly lower than in stoichiometric films due to the incorporation of H, which results in a lower density of the films. The most important paramagnetic defects detected in the films were the K center and the EЈ center. Defects related to N were also detected in some samples. The total density of defects in SiO x N y H z films was higher than in SiO 2 and lower than in silicon nitride films.

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mentioning

confidence: 75%

Optical and structural properties of SiOxNyHz films deposited by electron cyclotron resonance and their correlation with composition

Prado

Andrés

Mártil

et al. 2003

Journal of Applied Physics

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“…1,2 One of the most extended techniques for the deposition of silicon oxynitride films ͑in the following SiO x N y H z ) at low temperatures is plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition ͑PECVD͒, [3][4][5] with the remote PECVD 1,6,7 or electron cyclotron resonance ͑ECR-PECVD͒ [8][9][10][11] variants. While these techniques meet the low thermal budget requirement, the quality of the as-deposited dielectric films is not as good as that of thermally grown SiO 2 films.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microstructural modifications induced by rapid thermal annealing in plasma deposited SiOxNyHz films

Prado

Andrés

Mártil

et al. 2003

Journal of Applied Physics

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The effect of rapid thermal annealing ͑RTA͒ processes on the structural properties of SiO x N y H z films was investigated. The samples were deposited by the electron cyclotron resonance plasma method, using SiH 4 , O 2 and N 2 as precursor gases. For SiO x N y H z films with composition close to that of SiO 2 , which have a very low H content, RTA induces thermal relaxation of the lattice and improvement of the structural order. For films of intermediate composition and of compositions close to SiN y H z , the main effect of RTA is the release of H at high temperatures (TϾ700°C). This H release is more significant in films containing both Si-H and N-H bonds, due to cooperative reactions between both kinds of bonds. In these films the degradation of structural order associated to H release prevails over thermal relaxation, while in those films with only N-H bonds, thermal relaxation predominates. For annealing temperatures in the 500-700°C range, the passivation of dangling bonds by the nonbonded H in the films and the transition from the paramagnetic state to the diamagnetic state of the K center result in a decrease of the density of paramagnetic defects. The H release observed at high annealing temperatures is accompanied by an increase of density of paramagnetic defects.

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“…Like others [26,27] we assume that the presence of N-N, O-O, H-H and N-O bonds in SiON can be excluded due to the high bond strength in N 2 , O 2 , H 2 and NO molecules, respectively. Also our XPS studies have shown no evidence for N-N and N-O bonds in the layers.…”

Section: Properties Of Optimized Sion Layersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimization of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition silicon oxynitride layers for integrated optics applications

et al. 2007

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Silicon oxynitride (SiO x N y :H) layers were grown from 2%SiH 4 /N 2 and N 2 O gas mixtures by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Layer properties such as refractive index, deposition rate, thickness non-uniformity and hydrogen bond content were correlated to the relevant deposition parameters including radio frequency power, chamber pressure, total gas flow, substrate temperature and N 2 O/SiH 4 gas flow ratio. As a result, optimized SiO x N y :H layers could be produced over a wide index range (1.46-1.70) with good thickness uniformity and sufficiently high deposition rate. With a refraction index non-uniformity b5 × 10 − 4 a thickness non-uniformity could be obtained below 1% over a 70 × 70 mm 2 area of a 100 mm wafer at a deposition rate N 50 nm/min. The material composition and the optical properties of the SiO x N y :H layers were characterized by spectroscopic ellipsometry, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy and prism coupler techniques. A simple atomic valence model is found to describe the measured atomic concentrations for PECVD silicon oxynitride layers.

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Plasma-enhanced growth and composition of silicon oxynitride films

Cited by 94 publications

References 19 publications

Optical and structural properties of SiOxNyHz films deposited by electron cyclotron resonance and their correlation with composition

Optical and structural properties of SiOxNyHz films deposited by electron cyclotron resonance and their correlation with composition

Microstructural modifications induced by rapid thermal annealing in plasma deposited SiOxNyHz films

Optimization of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition silicon oxynitride layers for integrated optics applications

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