Study of the chemical, morphological, and structural properties of silicon oxynitride deposited by PECVD

Author(s)

Wanderlã Luis Scopel

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Física (IF/SBI)
• Defense date: 2002-08-12

Examining board members

Marcia Carvalho de Abreu Fantini; Lucy Vitoria Credidio Assali; Marcelo Nelson Paez Carreno; Adalberto Fazzio; Valmor Roberto Mastelaro

• Advisor: Marcia Carvalho de Abreu Fantini

Abstract

In this work, thin films of amorphous silicon oxynitride(alfa-SiOxNy:H) were deposited by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) at 320 ºC. In the deposition process a mixture of nitrous oxide (N2O) and silane (SiH4) was used, varying their flow ratio (Re= N2O/SiH4) in an interval of 0,25 Re 5,00. Films with different chemical composition were obtained, being O-rich (65 at.%) for Re 2,00 and Si-rich (44 at.%) for Re 1,50. The Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) was used to determine the atomic content of the films. The RBS data showed a decrease of the oxygen content while the Si and N contents increase with the decrease of Re. The films morphology was studied by Small Angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and density measurements by the flotation method. The SAXS data revealed the presence of scattering centers with mean radius from 10 Ã to 100 Ã. The TEM data showed the presence of spherical clusters dispersed in a matrix of the same atomic species. The concentration of pores in the material is less than 10% and decreases with the increase of oxygen content. The local atomic structure and chemical bonds were investigated by X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure (XANES), Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). A model of interatomic potential was developed to simulate the atomic structure of the amorphous silicon oxynitride in order to be compared with the experimental data. The computer simulations were performed by the Monte Carlo (MC) Metropolis method. The structural analysis of the O-rich samples, obtained by both experimental and theoretical simulations (obtained by MC), showed that the basic structure of the network is tetrahedral, being Si the central atom connected by O and N. The experimental results of the Si-rich samples indicate the formation of Si aggregates, embedded in a Si-O-N matrix. Annealing in vacuum, at temperatures between 550 e 1000 ºC, promoted hydrogen effusion and segregation of different phases. (AU)