Low temperature plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of thin films combining mechanical stiffness, electrical insulation, and homogeneity in microcavities
- Institute of Physics, Technical University of Chemnitz, D-09107 Chemnitz (Germany)
The deposition of hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) as well as hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbonitride (SiCN:H) films was investigated in view of a simultaneous realization of a minimum Young's modulus (>70 GPa), a high electrical insulation ({>=}1 MV/cm), a low permittivity and the uniform coverage of microcavities with submillimeter dimensions. For the a-C:H deposition the precursors methane (CH{sub 4}) and acetylene (C{sub 2}H{sub 2}) were used, while SiCN:H films were deposited from mixtures of trimethylsilane [SiH(CH{sub 3}){sub 3}] with nitrogen and argon. To realize the deposition of micrometer thick films with the aforementioned complex requirements at substrate temperatures {<=}200 deg. C, several plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition methods were investigated: the capacitively coupled rf discharge and the microwave electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma, combined with two types of pulsed substrate bias. SiCN:H films deposited at about 1 Pa from ECR plasmas with pulsed high-voltage bias best met the requirements. Pulsed biasing with pulse periods of about 1 {mu}s and amplitudes of about -2 kV was found to be most advantageous for the conformal low temperature coating of the microtrenches, thereby ensuring the required mechanical and insulating film properties.
- OSTI ID:
- 21476416
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Applied Physics, Journal Name: Journal of Applied Physics Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 108; ISSN JAPIAU; ISSN 0021-8979
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
ACETYLENE
ALKANES
ALKYNES
AMORPHOUS STATE
ARGON
CARBON
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBONITRIDES
CHEMICAL COATING
CHEMICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION
CYCLOTRON RESONANCE
DEPOSITION
DIELECTRIC MATERIALS
DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ELECTRON CYCLOTRON-RESONANCE
ELEMENTS
FILMS
FLUIDS
GASES
HYDROCARBONS
MATERIALS
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
METHANE
MICROWAVE RADIATION
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NONMETALS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PERMITTIVITY
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PLASMA
RADIATIONS
RARE GASES
RESONANCE
SEMIMETALS
SILICON
SILICON COMPOUNDS
SUBSTRATES
SURFACE COATING
THIN FILMS
YOUNG MODULUS