Chemical state depth profiling by Auger signal decomposition: Silicon oxynitride
Thin silicon nitride (Si/sub 3/N/sub 4/) films are widely used as a dielectric in metal-nitride-oxide-silicon (MNOS) structures for radiation hard non-volatile memories. The retention of charge in these devices depends, among other things, on the chemistry of the films. It has been reported that charge transport in MNOS structures can be reduced by replacing the Si/sub 3/N/sub 4/ film by a silicon oxynitride (SiO/sub x/N/sub y/) film. In order to understand the relationship between chemistry and retention of charge, it is necessary to have a technique that can determine the chemistry of the films as a function of depth. This can be accomplished with Auger electron spectroscopy by using fingerprint spectra for each of the elements and compounds present in the sample. By using classical least-squares techniques, a unique combination of the standard spectra can be found that best fits the unknown spectrum. When this method is repeated for each spectrum in a depth profile, a chemical state depth profile is obtained. The use of this technique to profile oxynitride films where the SiO/sub 2/ content varies between 0 and 12 atomic percent is presented. 6 refs., 7 figs.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-76DP00789
- OSTI ID:
- 6368348
- Report Number(s):
- SAND-89-0706C; CONF-890468-5; ON: DE89009830
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 16. international conference on metallurgical coatings and equipment exhibit, San Diego, CA, USA, 17 Apr 1989; Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
37 INORGANIC
ORGANIC
PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
SILICON NITRIDES
AUGER ELECTRON SPECTROSCOPY
SILICON OXIDES
THIN FILMS
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
DIELECTRIC MATERIALS
LEAST SQUARE FIT
PROBABILITY
CHALCOGENIDES
ELECTRON SPECTROSCOPY
FILMS
MATERIALS
MAXIMUM-LIKELIHOOD FIT
NITRIDES
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NUMERICAL SOLUTION
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PNICTIDES
SILICON COMPOUNDS
SPECTROSCOPY
360202* - Ceramics
Cermets
& Refractories- Structure & Phase Studies
400102 - Chemical & Spectral Procedures