Kinetics of structural relaxation and hydrogen evolution from plasma deposited silicon nitride

Infrared absorption measurements and the temperature dependence of stress have been used to establish the kinetics of structural relaxation and hydrogen evolution from plasma deposited a-SixNy :H films. The Arrhenius rate law describes the dissociation of N–H and Si–H bonds which occurs on annealing the films above 600 °C. The activation energies deduced from the infrared data are lower than the respective bond dissociation energies. The films undergo a rapid stress relaxation in the temperature range 400–650 °C. The discussion of the experimental results highlights possible mechanisms for the evolution of hydrogen from a-SixNy:H networks.