Remote plasma-enhanced CVD of silicon nitride films: effects of diluting nitrogen with argon. Part I: effect on nitrogen plasma parameters studied by emission spectroscopy

✍ Scribed by Sergei E. Alexandrov; Alexei Yu Kovalgin

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 169 KB
• Volume: 8
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1616-301X
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-0712(199801/02)8:1<13::aid-amo323>3.0.co;2-z

✦ Synopsis

In a series of two papers we describe the effect of argon dilution of the nitrogen passed through the RF discharge region on the plasma composition, growth rate and some characteristics of silicon nitride films deposited by remove PECVD. In this part we report the results of an emission spectroscopic study of the plasma obtained in an SiH 4 -N 2 -Ar mixture. It is shown that argon in metastable electronic excited states plays an important role during the RPECVD of silicon nitride films by providing a high concentration of atomic nitrogen which is necessary for the promotion of film growth. In Part II the influence of argon dilution on the growth rate, composition and some properties of silicon nitride films deposited by capacitively and inductively coupled remote PECVD is discussed.