Abstract
Using optical emission spectroscopy (OES) we have been able to distinguish three operating regimes for the ammonia-silane glow discharge used in plasma nitride deposition. By monitoring the deposition rate and analyzing the structure and composition of thea-SiN: H films it has been possible to correlate these three plasma regimes with three distinct deposition mechanisms. The growth plasma may be tuned to each of these regimes by varying one or more of the following three external parameters: ammonia mole fraction, r .f. power, and gas flow rate. Choice of these parameters allows control of the NH n radical concentration and the residence time in the reactor, and hence control over the number of gas-phase SiH n -NH n radical-radical reactions. Thus OES makes control of the film deposition mechanism possible.
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Hicks, S.E., Gibson, R.A.G. A spectroscopic investigation of growth regimes in silane-ammonia discharges used for plasma nitride deposition. Plasma Chem Plasma Process 11, 455–472 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01447159
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01447159