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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 March 2011
Silicon-carbon alloys were deposited by electron cyclotron resonance chemical vapor deposition (ECR-CVD) using either halogenated or non-halogenated precursors for the Si and C sources. Halogenated precursors were chosen for initial experiments to try to reduce the H content and to improve the microstructure of the silicon carbide (SiCx) films. While a wide range of compositions has been deposited using the halogenated precursors, only a limited range has been deposited so far with the non-halogenated precursors. Electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy show that compositions ranging from near-stoichiometric SiCx to extremely C-rich can be deposited by controlling the deposition temperature, plasma power and C/Si ratio of the halogenated precursors. At the highest C/Si-precursor ratio, the deposited film is electrically conductive with a measured resistivity of 0.067ω-cm, contains only 3-atomic-percent Si and should be considered a Si-doped carbon (C:Si) film. The excellent transparency, especially that of the C:Si films, allowed the assignment of FTIR absorption bands that are usually masked by graphitic inclusions and other impurities. A weak absorption band at 1180cm−1 was found to correlate with the electrical conductivity of the films and was attributed to the asymmetric “bond-and-a-half” Si=C stretch in a Si=C=C functional group where the pi electrons are distributed equally between the three atoms. Additional results show etching of the substrate by reactive Cl from the halogenated precursors can have a dramatic effect on the microstructure, porosity and moisture stability of the films. For experiments involving halogenated precursors, the C:Si films are much more stable than the near-stoichiometric SiCx because C:Si is deposited at lower plasma powers that do not etch the Si substrate. Finally, preliminary results show that near-stoichiometric SiCx films deposited using non-halogenated precursors are much more stable with respect to moisture incorporation than those deposited with halogenated precursors.
