The growth of silicon nitride crystalline films using microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Crystalline thin films of silicon nitride have been grown on a variety of substrates by microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition using N2, O2, and CH4 gases at a temperature of 800 deg C. X-ray diffraction and Rutherford backscattering measurements indicate the deposits are stoichiometric silicon nitride with varying amounts of the alpha and beta phases. Scanning electron microscope imaging indicates beta-Si3N4 possesses six-fold symmetry with particles size in the submicron range. In one experiment, the silicon necessary for growth comes from the single crystal silicon substrate due to etching/sputtering by the nitrogen plasma. The dependence of the grain size on the methane concentration is investigated. In an another experiment, an organo-silicon source, methoxytrimethylsilane, is used to grow silicon nitride with controlled introduction of the silicon necessary for growth. Thin crystalline films are deposited at rates of 0.1 micrometer/hr as determined by profilometry. A growth mechanism for both cases is proposed.