Effect of hydrogen content on dielectric strength of the silicon nitride film deposited by ICP-CVD

The inductively coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition (ICP-CVD) deposited silicon nitride (SiN (x) ) thin film was evaluated for its application as the electrical insulating film for a capacitor device. In order to achieve highest possible dielectric strength of SiN (x) , the process parameters of ICP-CVD were carefully tuned to control hydrogen in SiN (x) films by means of tuning N-2/SiH4 ratio and radio frequency (RF) power. Besides electrical measurements, the hydrogen content in the films was measured by dynamic secondary ion mass spectrometry (D-SIMS). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and micro Raman spectroscopy were used to characterize the SiN (x) films by measuring Si-H and N-H bonds' intensities. It was found that the more Si-H bonds lead to the higher dielectric strength.

Automated summary

The study evaluated SiN(x) thin films deposited by ICP-CVD as electrical insulating films for capacitor devices. The highest dielectric strength of SiN(x) was achieved by carefully tuning process parameters to control hydrogen content, as confirmed through various measurements and characterizations.