XPS AND FTIR ANALYSIS OF NITROGEN INCORPORATION IN CNX THIN-FILMS

CNx thin films have been deposited on Si(100) substrates using a new h ybrid deposition system. This system combines excimer laser ablation o f a graphite target and an atomic nitrogen source from a remote surfac e wave plasma. The films were characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), elastic recoil detection (ERD) and Fourier transfo rm infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). We found that the atomic nitrogen sou rce enhances the incorporation of N in the CNx layers, for example, fr om N/C = 0.04 (plasma off) to 0.18 (plasma on). In addition, as nitrog en pressure in the deposition chamber is increased from 2 mTorr to 1 T orr, the N/C ratio increases from 0.18 to 0.56. The XPS and FTIR spect ra indicate that at deposition pressures above 100 mTorr, nitrogen inc orporation is enhanced through the formation of hydrogenated carbon ni tride groups, while at lower pressures, only simple and double CN band s are detected. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A.