Bonding characterization nano-indentation study of the amorphous SiC{sub}x N{sub}y films with and without hydrogen incorporation

摘要

The hardness and effective modulus of hydrogen-containing and hydrogen-free amorphous SiC{sub}x N{sub}y films were studied by nano-indentation. Amorphous SiC{sub}x N{sub}y films with and without hydrogen were deposited by electron cyclotron resonance plasma chemical vapor deposition (ECR-CVD) using a SiH{sub}4-CH{sub}3NH{sub}2-N{sub}2-H{sub}2 gas mixture and hydrogen-free ion-beam sputtering deposition (IBSD), respectively. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) studies were used to investigate the bonding states of the SiC{sub}x N{sub}y materials. Si-H, C-H and N-H bonds were detected by FTIR in ECR-CVD, but not in IBSD, films. The incorporation of hydrogen led to a reduction in both the hardness and modulus of the amorphous SiC{sub}x N{sub}y films. From nano-indentation measurements, the hardness and effective modulus of the IBSD coated, hydrogen-free amorphous SiC{sub}x N{sub}y films were 27-30 and 211-258 GPa, respectively. The corresponding values for the ECR-CVD coated, hydrogen-containing amorphous SiC{sub}x N{sub}y were 22-26 and 115-144 GPa, respectively.