High-rate deposition of silicon nitride thin films using plasma-assisted reactive sputter deposition

Abstract

Functional thin films on organic materials are important in flexible electronics including next-generation flexible displays and photovoltaic cells. Herein, we describe the formation of SiNx films by plasma-assisted reactive sputtering deposition at low temperature, and detail the properties of the formed films. The effect of plasma assistance on the deposition rate and the properties of the SiNx films deposited by this system are reported as functions of relative N2 partial pressure. Plasma assistance led to a deposition rate as high as 1.63 nm/s. The thin film formed at a relative nitrogen partial pressure of 21.4% exhibited a density of 2.73 g/cm3 and was more than 95% transparent over the entire visible region of the spectrum. The properties of SiNx films formed by plasma-assisted reactive sputtering deposition demonstrate the feasibility of forming SiNx films that are suitable for passivation applications in devices such as organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and solar cells.