Effects of Ammonia Plasma Treatment on the Electrical Properties of Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition Amorphous Hydrogenated Silicon Carbide Films

Amorphous hydrogenated silicon carbide (a-SiC:H) films were deposited from a mixture of silane and methane gases using the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process. The properties of the film, following ammonia plasma treatment, are reported. A lower silane flow rate reduces the refractive index, but increases the carbon content and the optical band gap. Increasing the carbon concentration of the a-SiC:H films reduces the dielectric constant. The films were treated with ammonia plasma for various treatment periods. The original film has a smooth surface with a roughness of 0.231 nm, but increasing the ammonia plasma treatment period gradually roughens the surface. The chemical bonding nature of the a-SiC:H films with higher silicon content was investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Various nitrogen ionization species reacted with Si to promote the formation of silicon nitride. As a result, although the dielectric constant of the a-SiC:H films increased slightly, the leakage current density declined as the ammonia plasma treatment time increased.