Electronic Materials Letters , vol. 4, no. 1, pp.25-28, March, 2008

DOI :

Influence of Heat-Treatment Atmosphere on the Bonding and Optical Properties of SiON Films Prepared Using PECVD

Ki-Jun Yun, Dong-Ryeol Jung, Ja-Young Cho, Jong-Ha Moon, and Jin-Hyeok Kim^*
Chonnam National University

Abstract : The effects of annealing atmosphere on the Si-O, Si-N, Si-H, and N-H bonding characteristics in SiON films and their structural and optical properties were investigated. X-ray diffractions showed no evidence of crystals in any of the SiON films. The deposition rate increased as the N₂O/SiH₄ flow ratio increased and the SiH₄ flow rate increased. It was possible to obtain SiON films with a surface roughness of about 1 nm and a high deposition rate of about 4 μm/h when the processing parameters were optimized at rf power of 200 W, a N₂O/SiH₄ flow ratio of 3, and a SiH₄ flow rate of 100 sccm. The intensity of Si-O peaks increased in the samples annealed in an oxygen atmosphere, but it decreased in the samples annealed in nitrogen atmosphere. The intensity of the Si-N peak decreased in the samples annealed in an oxygen atmosphere, but it increased in the samples annealed in a nitrogen atmosphere. The position of Si-O peaks shifted from 1030 nm to 1140 nm in the samples annealed both in oxygen and in nitrogen atmospheres. We also observed that the intensities of the Si-H (~2250cm^-1) and N-H (~3550cm^-1) peaks decreased noticeably as the annealing temperature increased in all annealed samples.

Keyword : SiON, PECVD, planar waveguide