CHARACTERIZATION OF FLUORINATED HYDROGENATED AMORPHOUS-SILICON NITRIDE (A-SIN(X)H) ALLOYS

Fluorinated a-SiNx:H(0 less-than-or-equal-to x less-than-or-equal-to 0 .19) alloys prepared using glow discharge decomposition of NF3 and SiH 4 have been characterized using infrared absorption and the constant p hotocurrent method (CPM). The bonding configurations and the oscillato r strengths of various bonds in these alloys have been obtained from t he infrared-absorption spectra. The density of defects and their distr ibution in the band gap have been obtained without making any assumpti ons about the form of the distribution. It is found that in this compo sition range the main defect is the neutral silicon dangling bond and the concentration of charged dangling bonds is either too low or they are not present in these alloys. The possible role of fluorine in thes e alloys is also discussed.