Effect of deposition conditions on mechanical properties of low-temperature PECVD silicon nitride films

Authors

H. Huang, University of Queensland
K. J. Winchester, University of Western Australia
A. Suvorova, University of Western Australia
B. R. Lawn, National Institute of Standard and TechnologyFollow
Y. Liu, University of Western Australia
X. Z. Hu, University of Western Australia
J. M. Dell, University of Western Australia
L. Faraone, University of Western Australia

Date of this Version

2006

Comments

Published in Materials Science and Engineering A 435–436 (2006) 453–459.

Abstract

The effect of deposition conditions on characteristic mechanical properties – elastic modulus and hardness – of low-temperature PECVD silicon nitrides is investigated using nanoindentation. It is found that increase in substrate temperature, increase in plasma power and decrease in chamber gas pressure all result in increases in elastic modulus and hardness. Strong correlations between the mechanical properties and film density are demonstrated. The silicon nitride density in turn is shown to be related to the chemical composition of the films, particularly the silicon/nitrogen ratio.