Remote Hydrogen Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition from (Dimethylsilyl)(trimethylsilyl)methane. 2. Property−Structure Relationships for Resulting Silicon−Carbon Films

The physical, mechanical, and optical properties of amorphous hydrogenated silicon−carbon (a-Si:C:H) films produced by remote hydrogen plasma chemical vapor deposition (RHP−CVD) from (dimethylsilyl)(trimethylsilyl)silane have been investigated in relation to their chemical structure. The a-Si:C:H films deposited at different substrate temperatures were characterized in terms of their density, adhesion to a substrate, hardness, elastic modulus, friction coefficient, refractive index, and optical band gap. The atomic concentration ratio Si/C, controlled by the substrate temperature, appears to be an important structural parameter strongly influencing properties of the film. On the basis of the results of these studies, reasonable property−structure relationships have been determined.