Abstract
We have found that nitrogen atoms are released very rapidly from ultrathin SiO x N y films (∼2.6 nm) during RBS measurement with 500 keV He + ions. The release behavior strongly depends on the preparation technique of the SiO x N y films. There is no release from the film prepared by thermal nitridation of SiO 2, while 80% of the nitrogen atoms are released from the film prepared by plasma nitridation at a fluence of 1×10 16 cm −2. The release cross-section for plasma SiO x N y films is of the order of 10 −16 cm 2. This large cross-section cannot be explained by a simple recoil mechanism. The nitrogen release is also observed under irradiation with 5–10 keV electrons though the cross-section is of the order of 10 −19 cm 2. These findings suggest that the observed nitrogen release is an electronic excitation induced process.
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