Structural relaxation and stress reduction in hydrogenated silicon oxide films

Abstract

Ar/H2 sputtering of a SiO2 target can produce thick silicon oxide films with significantly reduced internal stresses compared with those of conventional films prepared by an Ar/O2 sputtering method. As an origin of the stress reduction, we proposed previously the structural relaxation model of the Si–O–Si network via partial Si–H termination. This model is experimentally supported here by the Raman spectroscopy measurements which show a large decrease of planar three- and four-fold ring-type defects in the hydrogenated Si–O–Si network structure.