Microstructural and Dielectric Characterization of Sol-Gel Derived Silicon Oxycarbide Glass Sheets

Abstract

Thin (50—1000 μm) silicon oxycarbide glass sheets were synthesized by the pyrolysis of gel sheets obtained from a methyl-modified silica sol containing colloidal silica under inert atmosphere between 900 and 1450°C. The microstructure of these glass sheets was investigated with the help of high resolution scanning and transmission electron microscopy (HR-SEM and HR-TEM), X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy and their dielectric properties were determined. The surface morphology as observed with HR-SEM did not exhibit a notable temperature dependence. HR-TEM studies showed that the glass sheets sintered up to 1200°C are amorphous, whereas those sintered at 1450°C contain uniformly dispersed crystallites of SiC and graphite. X-ray diffraction studies were found in agreement with the HR-TEM results. Raman spectroscopy showed that free carbon is present as an amorphous phase till a temperature of 1000°C, whereas at temperatures ≥1200°C, the presence of graphitic carbon was observed. Silicon oxycarbide glass sheets heat treated at temperatures up to 1200°C, showed a dielectric constant between 4.1 ± 0.11 and 4.6 ± 0.15 in the frequency range from 75 kHz to 5 MHz, with corresponding losses between 0.0008 and 0.1100. Such silicon oxycarbide glass sheets sintered at ≤1200°C could find an application as substrates for electronic packaging.