Incorporation of Hydrogen and Oxygen into (t)a-C:H Thin Films Deposited using DECR Plasma (*)
Abstract
A distributed electron cyclotron resonance (DECR) plasma reactor powered by a microwave generator operating at 2.45 GHz (800 W) was used to deposit (t)a-C:H thin films at RT on <100> Si substrates RF biased within the range 25<\V(o)\<600 V. C(2)H(2) was used as precursor. The plasma pressure was varied within the range 0.1 <P<l.5 mtorr. The films were analyzed using spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The hydrogen content N(H) and the density of the films were determined from nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) using the resonance at 6.385 MeV of the reaction: (15)N + (1)H-->(12)C + (4)He + omega. Position annihilation spectroscopy was used to detect the porosity. The evolutions of N(H) as a function of the substrate ion current density n+ and as a function of V(o) show that the hydrogen incorporation results from the competition between chemisorption and deposited energy density related effects. The increase of the hydrogen incorporation leads to a decrease in the film density and a lower deposition rate. The porosity of the films deposited at low pressure (^O. 1 mTorr) with V(o)= -80 V has been detected. The comparison between results of SRIM-2000 simulations and the evolution of N(H) as a function of V(o) shows that the porosity and the hydrogen content are not correlated. The absorption of oxygen and nitrogen for the low density films has been detected from the observation of the 3250-4000 cm(-1) infrared (IR) band.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADP012169
Entities
People
- Andre Golanski
- Dieter Grambole
- Fabrice Piazza
- Folker Herrmann
- Gary Relihan
Organizations
- University College Cork