Deposition of silicon carbon nitride films by ion beam sputtering

Silicon carbon nitride films have been successfully synthesized at a temperature below 100 °C from an adenine (C₅N₅H₅)-silicon-mixed target sputtered by Ar ion beam. The effects of Ar ion sputtering voltage, area ratio of Si to adenine in the mixed target and nitrogen atom addition during deposition on the film growth are investigated. XPS, XRD, and ellipsometry were employed to characterize the composition, chemical bonding, structure, and optical properly of the films. The growth characteristic and film properties of the silicon carbon nitride films are also compared with those of the carbon nitride films deposited from an adenine target to elucidate the effect of silicon incorporation. The silicon content of the resultant films increased significantly as the area ratio of Si to adenine increased, whereas a higher Ar ion voltage led to a lower level of silicon incorporation, presumably due to differential sputtering yield of Si and adenine. XPS chemical state analysis revealed multiple bonding structures for every element in the SiCN films, of which possible implications are given. XRD studies showed that only amorphous films for Si-rich SiCN were obtained, while the films with low Si incorporation and deposited at high Ar ion beam voltage contained nanocrystallites. Furthermore, the refractive index of the SiCN films increased with increasing silicon content. The appearance of the nanocrystalline structure in the films led to a reduction in the refractive index.