Influence of RF plasma properties on the deposited PACVD CNx layers

Abstract

The prediction of carbon nitride as compound with interesting material properties was published in 1989 [1] . The successful deposition of this material in form of very small particles embedded in an amorphous matrix has been reported several times 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 . Information about the reaction mechanisms is indispensable for the optimization of deposition conditions. In this work, the properties of the CN x layers deposited by plasma-activated chemical vapor deposition (PACVD) and the nitrogen excitation in the N 2 –Ar gas discharge are correlated. It has been concluded that the formation of cyanogroups which were included into the layers at substrate temperatures below 200 °C was correlated to low excited N 2 in the gas phase of the N 2 –Ar discharge. The deposition of a compound called “paracyanlike CN x ” requires higher excited nitrogen, and finally the formation of covalent singlebonded CN x was observed when only ions and radicals arrived at the substrates. The role of atomic nitrogen has not been elucidated yet.