Remote hydrogen microwave plasma CVD of silicon carbonitride films from a tetramethyldisilazane source. Part 1: Characterization of the process and structure of the films

Silicon carbonitride (Si:C:N) films are produced by hydrogen remote microwave plasma (RP)CVD using a 1,1,3,3-tetramethyldisilazane precursor. The effect of the substrate temperature on the rate and yield of the hydrogen RPCVD process, chemical composition, chemical structure, and surface morphology of the resulting film are investigated. The Arrhenius plots of the substrate temperature dependencies of the mass- and thickness-based growth rate and growth yield of Si:C:N film imply that RPCVD is controlled by the adsorption of film-forming precursors onto the growth surface. The results of Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) examinations reveal that the increase in substrate temperature from 35 degrees C to 400 degrees C involves the elimination of organic groups from the film and the formation of a silicon carbonitride network structure with a predominant content of Si-C carbidic bonds. The atomic force microscopy (AFM) results show that the films are morphologically homogeneous materials of surface roughness varying in a narrow range of small values (0.9 - 2.0 nm).