Barrier Effect of Electron Cyclotron Resonance Sputtered Films Against Water and Hydrogen Molecules Permeation

The diffusion barrier characteristics of electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) sputtered films were investigated by thermal desorption spectroscopy using -tetraethoxysilane-based nondoped silicate glass films as diffusion sources of and molecules. The ECR sputtered oxide films, and have two modes of deposition, an oxide mode and a metal mode. The high quality film deposited by the oxide mode is suitable as a diffusion barrier against while the film deposited by the metal mode, which has a higher density of dangling bonds, is suitable as a diffusion barrier against and films act as better barriers than the film. However, the film thickness dependence of the barrier effect was lost at about 340°C for the film and 400°C for the film; their diffusion barrier characteristics could not be evaluated above those temperatures. Although optical microscopy did not reveal any cracks in the films, the fact that the barrier effect of the films was lost suggests that microscopic cracks were induced by stress effects.