Fractal Aggregation Behavior in Amorphous Silicon Nitride Films

Fluorinated amorphous carbon (a-C:F) thin film has been deposited by microwave electron cyclotron resonance plasma chemical vapor deposition (ECR-CVD) using C6H6 and CHF3 as source gases. The result of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) shows that the main bonds in the film as-deposited are C-C, C-F and CF2. The measurement of postive I-V property indicates that the conductance of the film presents Omic characteristic at a lower electric field, and follows Schotty emission at a higher electric field.

Temperature of thermal spikes in amorphous silicon nitride films produced by 1.11 MeV C603+ impacts

Effect of carbon sources on silicon carbon nitride films growth in an electron cyclotron resonance plasma chemical vapor deposition reactor

Si–C–N thin films with smooth surfaces were synthesised by electron cyclotron resonance plasma chemical vapour deposition at low microwave powers without heating silicon substrates. Mechanical properties of obtained films were examined by nanoindentation based on Oliver and Pharr method. High elastic recovery was observed. Hardness and reduced modulus show no clear relation with the elastic/plastic work calculated from load–displacement curves. The energy dissipation kept almost constant with respect to the variation of stiffness during loading and unloading process. This opens the possibility of potential industrial applications due to the insensitivity of the deposited films to external stress.

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC:H) films are prepared by the electron cyclotron resonance plasma chemical vapor deposition (ECR PCVD) technique. The films are, for the first time, applied as protective layers for phase-change-type optical disks. Three kinds of films with different hydrogen contents are investigated to improve writing sensitivity. The writing laser power required to obtain a sufficient carrier-to-noise ratio is 11 mW at a 10 m/s linear velocity, which corresponds to a 30% power reduction compared to conventional rf-sputtered ZnS protective layers. This is attributed to the decreased thermal conductivity of these protective layers. The hydrogen in the films is confirmed to be thermally stable.

The paper reports a method of depositing SiO2, SiNx, a:Si, Si3N4 and SiOxNy dielectric thin films by electron cyclotron resonance plasma chemical vapor deposition (ECR CVD) on InP, InGaAs and other compound semiconductor optoelectronic devices,and give a technology of depositing dielectric thin films and optical coatings by ECR CVD on Laser's Bars. The experiment results show the dielectric thin films and optical coatings are stable at thermomechanical property,optical properties and the other properties. In addition, the dielectric thin film deposition that there is low leakage current is reported for using as diffusion and ion implatation masks in the paper. In the finally, the dielectric film refractive index can be accurately controlled by the N-2/O-2/Ar gas flow rate.

We study the structural defects in the SiOx film prepared by electron cyclotron resonance plasma chemical vapour deposition and annealing recovery evolution. The photoluminescence property is observed in the as-deposited and annealed samples.[-SiO3]2− defects are the luminescence centres of the ultraviolet photoluminescence (PL) from the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and PL measurements. [-SiO3]2− is observed by positron annihilation spectroscopy, and this defect can make the S parameters increase. After 1000°C annealing, [-SiO3]2− defects still exist in the films.

Silicon–carbon–nitrogen alloys have been deposited by electron cyclotron resonance plasma chemical vapor deposition. Nitrogen, methane, and argon diluted silane have been used as precursor gases. The properties of the deposited films were studied by spectroscopic ellipsometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron, and Auger electron spectroscopy. The structure and bond formation in the SiCN films is discussed in terms of the present results.

Thin films deposited on crystalline silicon surfaces are critical components of many silicon‐based devices, including high‐efficiency photovoltaic cells. Knowledge of their optical and electronic properties is important in designing and fabricating efficient solar cells, especially as the device complexity increases and includes micron‐scale features. Here, a camera‐based photoluminescence (PL) technique is developed to image the thickness of specific passivating films on silicon wafers. The technique is entirely contactless and nondestructive, requires minimal sample preparation, and provides a large dynamic range in terms of field of view, with micron‐scale spatial resolution possible. It retains the advantages of PL imaging, a mainstream technique for photovoltaic material and device characterization, and it has some extra capabilities similar to those of ellipsometry. This newly developed technique is demonstrated on hydrogenated amorphous silicon and silicon nitride films, two important passivation technologies for high‐efficiency silicon solar cells.

IR transmittance studies of hydrogen-free and hydrogenated silicon nitride and silicon oxynitride films deposited by reactive sputtering

We present a method that employs the metal-assisted chemical etching technique and a subsequent NH3 plasma treatment for obtaining silica nanoparticles (SNPs) uniformly distributed on an amorphous silicon-rich silicon nitride (SRN) film. These particles ranging from 50 to 300 nm are formed directly from the SRN films, and their density is related to the flow rate of the precursor gas (SiCl4). We determined that the SNPs are a SiOx compound (x > 1) with amorphous structure. Furthermore, the chemical composition of the bulk of the remaining SRN film after the etching in a HF/H2O2-based solution and plasma treatment maintain the properties of a pristine one if the initial thickness of the film is large enough (≥ 1 µm). This method enables the formation of silica nanoparticles directly on a silicon-rich silicon nitride film that could have potential optoelectronic applications, implicit in the optical measurements.

In this paper, we report the reflectance spectra of hydrogenated amorphous silicon nitride(a-SiNx:H) film grown on GaAs substrate using Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) technique. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy has been used explicitly to resolve the LO and TO phonon mode contributions. The results of variable angle polarized IR reflectance on a-SiNx:H/GaAs samples are obtained for two different orientations. The calculated results for polarized reflectance are in good agreement with experimental measurements by choosing suitable frequencies and damping as fitting parameters.In this paper, we report the reflectance spectra of hydrogenated amorphous silicon nitride(a-SiNx:H) film grown on GaAs substrate using Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) technique. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy has been used explicitly to resolve the LO and TO phonon mode contributions. The results of variable angle polarized IR reflectance on a-SiNx:H/GaAs samples are obtained for two different orientations. The calculated results for polarized reflectance are in good agreement with experimental measurements by choosing suitable frequencies and damping as fitting parameters.

Characterization of thin-film amorphous semiconductors using spectroscopic ellipsometry

Optical characterization of ns-SiN:H in the infrared by spectroscopic ellipsometry

Multiresolution molecular dynamics approach on parallel computers has been used to investigate fracture in ceramic materials. In microporous silica, critical behavior at fracture is analyzed in terms of pore percolation and kinetic roughening of fracture surfaces. Crack propagation in amorphous silicon nitride films is investigated, and a correlation between the speed of crack propagation and the morphology of fracture surfaces is observed. In crystalline silicon nitride films, temperature-assisted void formation in front of a crack tip slows down crack propagation.