The Growth of Silicon Nitride Crystalline Films Using Microwave Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition

Download or read book The Growth of Silicon Nitride Crystalline Films Using Microwave Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition written by and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 31 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Crystalline thin films of silicon nitride have been grown on a variety of substrates by microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition using N2, O2, and CH4 gases at a temperature of 800 deg C. X-ray diffraction and Rutherford backscattering measurements indicate the deposits are stoichiometric silicon nitride with varying amounts of the alpha and beta phases. Scanning electron microscope imaging indicates beta-Si3N4 possesses six-fold symmetry with particles size in the submicron range. In one experiment, the silicon necessary for growth comes from the single crystal silicon substrate due to etching/sputtering by the nitrogen plasma. The dependence of the grain size on the methane concentration is investigated. In an another experiment, an organo- silicon source, methoxytrimethylsilane, is used to grow silicon nitride with controlled introduction of the silicon necessary for growth. Thin crystalline films are deposited at rates of 0.1 micrometer/hr as determined by profilometry. A growth mechanism for both cases is proposed.