Characterisation of silicon oxynitride thin films and their response to swift heavy-ion irradiation

Silicon oxynitrides (a-SiOxNy) are materials whose composition ranges between two binary materials: a-SiO2 and a-Si3N4. In this work, we present a systematic study of the fine structure of the damaged regions produced by swift heavy-ions (SHIs), or ‘ion-tracks’ and quantify the density variation profiles with respect to composition. Thin films were deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (CVD), where thickness, density, stoichiometry and bond configuration were initially determined. The fine structure and radial size of the ion tracks was determined using small angle X-ray scattering. The tracks exhibit a core-shell cylindrical geometry, with an under-dense core surrounded by an over-dense shell with a smooth transition between the two regions. We observed two trends with composition: a constant increasing ion track radius is observed when the O/Si ratio is below one (0≤x≤1). And saturation of the radial dimensions above this value, being similar to a-SiO2. The IR spectra allowed to quantify the bond configuration and its evolution with fluence. After irradiation, the energy deposited by the SHI irradiation leads to a preferential damage of Si-N bonds. IR spectroscopy also showed the formation of new Si-H bonds with increasing fluences and resulting in a rather complex ion-induced structural modification of the a-SiOxNy network.