Amorphous carbon film growth on Si: Correlation between stress and generation of defects into the substrate
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita di Trento, Via Sommarive 14, I-38050 Povo, Trento (Italy)
Amorphous carbon films of several thicknesses were prepared by graphite sputtering on crystalline silicon substrate. The samples were depth profiled with positron annihilation spectroscopy for open-volume measurements and characterized for their residual internal stress. It was found that after film growth the substrate presents vacancy-like defects decorated by oxygen in a layer extending in the substrate by several tens of nanometers beyond the film/Si interface. The width of the defected layer and the decoration of vacancy-like defects are directly and inversely proportional to the measured intensity of the residual stress, respectively. These findings indicate the existence of a relaxation mechanism of the stress in the films that involves deeply the substrate. The decorated vacancy-like defects are suggested to be bounded to dislocations induced in the substrate by the stress relaxation.
- OSTI ID:
- 20702408
- Journal Information:
- Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 86, Issue 22; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.1940738; (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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