Long-term stable water vapor permeation barrier properties of SiN/SiCN/SiN nanolaminated multilayers grown by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition at extremely low pressures

摘要

We investigated the water vapor permeation barrier properties of 30-nm-thick SiN/SiCN/SiN nanolaminated multilayer structures grown by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition at 7 mTorr. The derived water vapor transmission rate was 1.12 × 10−6 g/(m2 day) at 85 °C and 85% relative humidity, and this value was maintained up to 15 000 h of aging time. The X-ray diffraction patterns revealed that the nanolaminated film was composed of an amorphous phase. A mixed phase was observed upon performing high resolution transmission electron microscope analysis, which indicated that a thermodynamically stable structure was formed. It was revealed amorphous SiN/SiCN/SiN multilayer structures that are free from intermixed interface defects effectively block water vapor permeation into active layer.