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Synthesis of silicon carbonitride dielectric films with improved optical and mechanical properties from tetramethyldisilazane

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Abstract

Films of silicon carbonitride have been obtained by the plasma chemical decomposition of a gaseous mixture of helium and a volatile organic silicon compound 1,1,3,3-tetramethyldisilazane (TMDS) in the temperature range of 373–973 K. The modeling of the processes of deposition from a gaseous mixture (TMDS + He) in the temperature range of 300–1300 K and pressures of P 0total = 10−2–10 Torr has shown that it is possible to vary the equilibrium composition of the condensed phase depending on the synthesis temperature and the initial gaseous mixture composition. The chemical and phase compositions, as well as physicochemical and functional properties, of the films obtained in the range of 373–973 K have been studied using a complex of modern techniques, including Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) Raman, X-ray photoelectron (XPS) and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), scanning electron (SEM) and atomic-force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction using synchrotron radiation (XRD-SR), ellipsometry, and spectrophotometry. The electrophysical parameters are determined using the C-V and I-V characteristics, and the microhardness and Young’s modulus are determined by the nanoindentation method. It is established that the chemical composition of low-temperature (373–673 K) films of silicon carbonitride corresponds to a gross formula of SiC x N y O z : H, while that of high-temperature films corresponds to SiC x N y . The presence of nanocrystals with the phase composition close to the standard phase α-Si3N4 is detected in the films. It is shown that all of the films are perfect dielectrics (k = 3.8–6.4, ρ = 2.2 × 1010−1.3 × 1011 Ohm · cm), possess high transparency (∼98%) in a wide spectral range of 280–2500 nm, and have a high microhardness (3.8–36 GPa) and Young’s momentum (125–190 GPa).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nikolayev Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, pr. Akad. Lavrentieva 3, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

    N. I. Fainer, Yu. M. Rumyantsev, E. A. Maximovskii, B. M. Ayupov & F. A. Kuznetsov

  2. Novosibirsk State University, ul. Pirogova 2, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

    A. N. Golubenko

  3. Rzhanov Institute of Semiconductor Physics, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, pr. Akad. Lavrentieva 13, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

    V. G. Kesler

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  1. N. I. Fainer
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  3. Yu. M. Rumyantsev
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  5. E. A. Maximovskii
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  6. B. M. Ayupov
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  7. F. A. Kuznetsov
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Correspondence to N. I. Fainer.

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Original Russian Text © N.I. Fainer, A.N. Golubenko, Yu.M. Rumyantsev, V.G. Kesler, E.A. Maximovskii, B.M. Ayupov, F.A. Kuznetsov, 2013, published in Fizika i Khimiya Stekla.

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Fainer, N.I., Golubenko, A.N., Rumyantsev, Y.M. et al. Synthesis of silicon carbonitride dielectric films with improved optical and mechanical properties from tetramethyldisilazane. Glass Phys Chem 39, 77–88 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1087659613010057

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