Substrate Temperature Effects on Properties of Silicon Nitride Films Deposited by Ion Beam Assisted Deposition

1990 ◽  
Vol 201 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. P. Donovan ◽  
C. A. Carosella ◽  
K. S. Grabowski ◽  
W. D. Coleman

AbstractSilicon nitride films (Si1−x,.Nx) have been deposited on silicon by simultaneous evaporation of silicon and bombardment of nitrogen ions. Films approximately 1 μm thick were deposited in an ambient nitrogen pressure of 50 μTorr. The substrate temperature (TSUB) ranged from nominally room temperature to 950° C for films with X between 0 and 0.6. Nitrogen atom fraction, X, was measured with Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS). Refractive index was measured with near-IR reflection spectroscopy. Differences in film structure were measured by FT1R on the Si-N bond bending absorption mode, and by x-ray diffraction (XRD). X was found to depend upon the incident flux ratio of energetic nitrogen atoms to vapor silicon, and upon TSUB. Refractive index depends upon X and TSUB. XRD found evidence of the presence of amorphous structure, poly-crystalline silicon and (101) oriented β-Si3N4 depending on X and TSUB. The Si-N absorption signal increases with X and shows some structure at high TSUB.

1993 ◽  
Vol 316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhong-Min Ren ◽  
Zhi-Feng Ying ◽  
Xia-Xing Xiong ◽  
Mao-Qi He ◽  
Yuan-Cheng DU ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTBombardment of silicon surfaces by low-energy nitrogen ions has been investigated as a possible process for growing films of silicon nitride at relatively low temperature(<500°C). Broad ion beams of energy 300–1200eV have been used to grow ultrathin silicon nitride films. Film thickness and chemical states are analyzed using ellipsometery, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Auger electron spectroscopy(AES). As a result, thicknesses dependence on ion energy, substrate temperature and implantation time have been investigated. The thicknesses of films obtained appear to increase with ion energy in the range from 300 to 1200eV, and with time of bombardment. The thicknesses are also observed to vary slightly with substrate temperature. The growth mechanism has also been investigated and discussed. The average activation energy of nitridation rates is about 3.5meV which indicates nonthermal process kinetics, compared to an activation energy of 0.2–0.6eV for thermal nitridation. AES results show that the atomic ratio [N]/[Si] is about 1.5, larger than that of pure Si3N4. All the analyses show that silicon nitride films of about 60Å thickness have been grown on silicon by low-energy ion beam nitridation.


2010 ◽  
Vol 654-656 ◽  
pp. 1712-1715
Author(s):  
Ai Min Wu ◽  
Hong Yun Yue ◽  
X.Y. Zhang ◽  
Fu Wen Qin ◽  
T.J. Li ◽  
...  

The silicon nitride films have been deposited by Electron Cyclotron Resonance-plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (ECR-PECVD) method at low temperature, and the pure nitrogen is introduced into the ECR chamber as the plasma gas, the silane(Ar diluted, Ar:SiH4=19:1) is used as precursor gas. The optimum deposition parameters of SiN films for photovoltaic application as an efficient antireflection coating(ARC) have been investigated. The actual composition of the films will be varied with the deposition conditions, such as gas flow rate ratio(N2/SiH4), substrate temperature, and microwave power. The effect of deposition parameters on the optical performance of SiN films was determined by Ellipsometry. The Si-N and N-H stretching characteristic peaks of SiN films have been observed by FTIR spectroscopy. Results shown that uniform silicon nitride films with low hydrogen content can be deposited at high deposition rate(10.7nm/min), and the refractive index increased with the increasing of substrate temperature and microwave power. The film shows good optical properties (refractive index is 2.0 or so) and satisfied surface quality (average roughness is 1.45nm) when the deposition parameter is 350oC and microwave power is 650W.


2011 ◽  
Vol 254 ◽  
pp. 187-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruchi Tiwari ◽  
Sudhir Chandra

In the present work, we report the preparation, characterization and application of silicon nitride thin films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering on oxidized silicon substrates. The properties of the films were investigated with respect to the substrate temperature during film deposition. X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy confirms the presence of silicon and nitrogen in the films. The X-ray diffraction results indicate that the films were amorphous when deposited without external substrate heating. On the other hand, the deposition on heated substrate (300 °C) results in weakly crystalline structure. Spectral reflectance technique was used for thickness and refractive index measurements. With substrate heating, the refractive index was observed to increase. Atomic force microscope images revealed that the films were smooth and had uniform texture. The etching characteristics of the films in buffered hydrofluoric acid at room temperature and 40 wt % potassium hydroxide at 80 °C were also investigated. Significant reduction in etch rates was observed when the films were deposited on heated substrates. Using the sputter deposited silicon nitride films, microstructures such as cantilevers and diaphragms, which are basic building blocks in micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) based sensors, were fabricated using micromachining techniques.


2001 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 2542-2548 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. P. Tsang ◽  
C. W. Ong ◽  
N. Chong ◽  
C. L. Choy ◽  
P. K. Lim ◽  
...  

2005 ◽  
Vol 872 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. Maloney ◽  
Sara A. Lipka ◽  
Samuel P. Baldwin

AbstractLow pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) silicon oxide and silicon nitride films were implanted subcutaneously in a rat model to study in vivo behavior of the films. Silicon chips coated with the films of interest were implanted for up to one year, and film thickness was evaluated by spectrophotometry and sectioning. Dissolution rates were estimated to be 0.33 nm/day for LPCVD silicon nitride, 2.0 nm/day for PECVD silicon nitride, and 3.5 nm/day for PECVD silicon oxide. A similar PECVD silicon oxide dissolution rate was observed on a silicon oxide / silicon nitride / silicon oxide stack that was sectioned by focused ion beam etching. These results provide a biostability reference for designing implantable microfabricated devices that feature exposed ceramic films.


1997 ◽  
Vol 505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joo Han Kim ◽  
Won Sang Lee ◽  
Ki Woong Chunga

ABSTRACTThe influence of ion bombardment on the mechanical stress and microstructure of sputtered silicon nitride (SiNx) films has been systematically investigated. Applied substrate bias voltage was used to control the bombardment energy in a radio frequency (rf) reactive magnetron sputtering system. The resultant films were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), stress and chemical etch rate measurements. As the bias voltage was increased, the internal stress in SiNx films became increasingly compressive and reached a value of about 18.3 × 109 dyne/cm2 at higher bias voltages. These correlated well with the transition of the film microstructure from a porous microcolumnar structure containing large void to the more densely packed one. The obtained results can be explained in terms of atomic peening by energetic particles, leading to densification of the microstructure. It was also found that the amount of argon incorporated in the film is increased with increasing bias voltage, whereas the oxygen content is decreased. The lowest etch rate in buffered HF solution, approximately 1.2 Å/sec, was observed with the application of a substrate bias of -50 V.


2016 ◽  
Vol 120 (14) ◽  
pp. 145305 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Rodríguez-Gómez ◽  
L. Escobar-Alarcón ◽  
R. Serna ◽  
F. Cabello ◽  
E. Haro-Poniatowski ◽  
...  

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