The composition and uniformity of silicon nitride thin films deposited by reactive sputtering in a mixture of argon and nitrogen eventually contaminated by oxygen traces were studied. Both direct observation of nuclear reactions on nitrogen and oxygen and backscattering of 4He+ ions were used to analyze the deposits. The films appear uniform as a function of depth. They are practically oxygen free but contain large amounts of argon. Their stoichiometry changes with the partial pressure PN2 of nitrogen. The ratios N/Si and Ar/Si vary in the opposite direction; for smaller values of PN2 there is an excess of silicon, whereas for larger values an excess of nitrogen is observed with respect to the stoichiometric composition Si3N4.
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Croset et al. (1971) studied this question.
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