Y. Suzaki et al., CONCENTRATION AND THERMAL RELEASE OF HYDROGEN IN AMORPHOUS-SILICON CARBIDE FILMS PREPARED BY RF-SPUTTERING, Thin solid films, 311(1-2), 1997, pp. 207-211
Concentration and thermal release of hydrogen in hydrogenated amorphou
s SiC (a-SiC:H) films were studied. The films were prepared onto Si (1
11) wafers at room temperature by rf planer magnetron sputtering in a
gas mixture of argon at partial pressures of 0.33 Pa and hydrogen from
0.065 to 1.3 Pa. The LR measurements conducted on the films annealed
at various temperatures for 3600 s suggested that the hydrogen was rel
eased from Si-H and C-H bonds in the films at the temperatures above 6
00 and 850 K, respectively. In-situ isochronal annealing for 300 s at
various temperatures from 323 to 1123 K in the ERDA (Elastic Recoil De
tection Analysis) system was carried out for the specimen having the h
ydrogen concentration of 7.1 X 10(27) atoms/m(3). It was revealed that
three types of hydrogen exist in the films; hydrogen bonded to Si or
C atoms and unbonded hydrogen, with the concentrations of 2.8 X 10(27)
, 1.9 X 10(27) and 2.4 X 10(27) atoms/m(3), respectively. The concentr
ation of unbonded hydrogen decreases with increase of the hydrogen par
tial pressure. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.