A STUDY OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF ORGANIC–INORGANIC HYBRID PLASMA-POLYMER THIN FILMS BY CO-DEPOSITION OF TOLUENE AND TEOS

Abstract

We investigated the interaction of varied plasma power with ultralow-κ Toluene–TEOS hybrid plasma-polymer thin films, as well as changes in electrical and mechanical properties with various mixture ratios of toluene and TEOS (tetraethoxysilane). Using the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method, organic–inorganic hybrid polymer thin films were deposited on silicon(100) substrates under 150°C of wall temperature and a ratio of TEOS to toluene. Toluene and TEOS were utilized as organic and inorganic precursors, and hydrogen and argon were used as bubbler and carrier gases, respectively. In order to compare the differences in the electrical and the mechanical properties of plasma polymerized thin films, we grew the hybrid polymer thin films under 30 W of RF (radio frequency using 13.56 MHz) power with various ratios of toluene to TEOS. The as-grown polymerized thin films were first analyzed by Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The results of FT-IR showed that the hybrid polymer thin films were totally fragmented and polymerized with increasing RF power. AFM showed that polymer films with smooth surface could be grown under various deposition conditions. An impedance analyzer was utilized for the measurements of capacitance values for dielectric constants and the thin films were analyzed for hardness and Young's modulus using a nanoindenter.