Paramagnetic nitrogen defects in silicon nitride

Conference · Thu Dec 31 00:00:00 EST 1992

OSTI ID:10134881

Warren, W L ^[1]; Kanicki, J ^[2]; Robertson, J ^[3]; Poindexter, E H ^[4]

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1. Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
2. International Business Machines Corp., Yorktown Heights, NY (United States). Thomas J. Watson Research Center
3. National Power, Leatherhead (United Kingdom)
4. Army Electronics Technology and Devices Lab., Fort Monmouth, NJ (United States)

Photocreation mechanisms and properties of nitrogen dangling bonds in amorphous hydrogenated silicon nitride (a-SiN{sub x}:H) thin films are investigated. We find that the creation kinetics are strongly dependent on the post-deposition anneal; this thermal process can be described by a simple exponential function which yields an activation energy of 0.8 eV. The compositional dependence of the nitrogen dangling bond center suggests that its energy level lies close to the valence band edge, in agreement with theoretical calculations. This energy level position can explain why a-SiN{sub x}:H films often become conducting following a high post-deposition anneal.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-76DP00789
• OSTI ID: 10134881
• Report Number(s): SAND-92-2777C; CONF-921101-99; ON: DE93008341
• Resource Relation: Conference: 16. Materials Research Society (MRS) fall meeting,Boston, MA (United States),30 Nov - 5 Dec 1992; Other Information: PBD: [1992]
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
SILICON NITRIDES
CRYSTAL DEFECTS
THIN FILMS
AMORPHOUS STATE
HYDROGENATION
ELECTRON SPIN RESONANCE
NITROGEN
ANNEALING
ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION
360204
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES