On the structure of low-temperature PECVD silicon dioxide films

Abstract

It is demonstrated that the results of refractive index, infra-red absorption and electron spin resonance measurements on low temperature PECVD silicon dioxide films are con-sistent with a network structure composed of densified, amorphous SiO2 and micro-scopes. The density of the amorphous SiO2 is suggested to be greater than that of un-densified SiO2 by about 10%. Approximately 5% of the deposited film volume is argued to consist of micropores High temperature annealing relaxes the dense state of the amorphous SiO2 and collapses the volume occupied by the micropores.