Remote hydrogen–nitrogen plasma chemical vapor deposition from a tetramethyldisilazane source. Part 1. Mechanism of the process, structure and surface morphology of deposited amorphous hydrogenated silicon carbonitride films

Abstract

Amorphous hydrogenated silicon carbonitride films were produced by remote plasma chemical vapor deposition (RP-CVD) from 1,1,3,3-tetramethyldisilazane (TMDSN) as the single-source compound using a H₂–N₂ upstream-gas-mixture for plasma generation. The reactivity of particular TMDSN bonds in the RP-CVD initiation step has been examined using a hexamethyldisilazane model compound in the deposition experiments. The active species contributing to RP-CVD were identified by optical emission spectroscopic analysis of the plasma region. The films were examined using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The effect of N₂ content in the H₂–N₂ upstream-gas-mixture on plasma generation of the active species, growth rate, chemical structure, and surface morphology of the resulting films is reported.