[Truncated abstract] This study investigates the thermal stability of Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposited (PECVD) silicon nitride thin films. Effects of heat-treatment in air on the chemical composition, atomic bonding structure, crystallinity, mechanical properties, morphological and physical integrity are investigated. The chemical composition, bonding structures and crystallinity are studied by means of X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The mechanical properties, such as hardness and Young’s modulus, are determined by means of nanoindentation. The morphological and physical integrity are analyzed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) . . . The Young’s modulus (E) and hardness (H) of the film deposited at 448 K were measured to have E=121±1.8 GPa and H=11.7±0.25 GPa. The film deposited at 573 K has E=150±3.6 GPa and H=14.7±0.6 GPa. For the film deposited at 573 K, the Young’s modulus is not affected by heating up to 1148 K. Heating at 1373 K caused significant increase in Young’s modulus to 180∼199 GPa. This is attributed to the crystallization of the film. For the film deposited at 448 K, the Young’s modulus showed a moderate increase, by ∼10%, after heating to above 673 K. This is consistent with the much lower level of crystallization in this film as compared to the film deposited at 573 K. In summary, low temperature deposited PECVD SiNx films are chemically and structurally unstable when heated in air to above 673 K. The main changes include oxidation to SiO2, crystallization of Si3N4 and physical cracking. The film deposited at 573 K is more stable and damage and oxidation resistant than the film deposited at 448 K.

Crystalline thin films of silicon nitride have been grown on a variety of substrates by microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition using N2, O2, and CH4 gases at a temperature of 800 deg C. X-ray diffraction and Rutherford backscattering measurements indicate the deposits are stoichiometric silicon nitride with varying amounts of the alpha and beta phases. Scanning electron microscope imaging indicates beta-Si3N4 possesses six-fold symmetry with particles size in the submicron range. In one experiment, the silicon necessary for growth comes from the single crystal silicon substrate due to etching/sputtering by the nitrogen plasma. The dependence of the grain size on the methane concentration is investigated. In an another experiment, an organo- silicon source, methoxytrimethylsilane, is used to grow silicon nitride with controlled introduction of the silicon necessary for growth. Thin crystalline films are deposited at rates of 0.1 micrometer/hr as determined by profilometry. A growth mechanism for both cases is proposed.

The objective of this book is two-fold: to examine key properties of III-V compounds and to present diverse material parameters and constants of these semiconductors for a variety of basic research and device applications. Emphasis is placed on material properties not only of Inp but also of InAs, GaAs and GaP binaries.