Growth of SiCN Crystals Consisting of a Predominantly Carbon Nitride Network

Abstract

AbstractWe report here growth of thin films of Si-containing crystalline carbon-nitride by microwave plasma assisted CVD. The chemical composition of these films has been observed to be a strong function of the substrate temperature. A significant incorporation of Si into the CN network occurs for substrate temperatures exceeding 1000C. XPS analyses of these films indicate a multiple bonding structure between carbon and nitrogen and also indicate that a majority of the carbon atoms are tetrahedrally coordinated and covalently bonded with nitrogen. Investigations of the growth rate as a function of various deposition parameters revealed that Si substrates exhibit weight loss rather than deposition, suggesting that abstraction of Si atoms from the substrate surface by the chemically active radicals from the plasma is a dominant process. The species thus formed, i.e., the active radicals bonded with Si, appear to facilitate the subsequent reactions in the gas phase. A major achievement of this study is that there is no obvious deposition of any amorphous CN material.