ELECTRONIC AND ATOMIC STRUCTURES OF SI-C-N THIN-FILM BY X-RAY-ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY

This study measures X-ray absorption spectra of crystalline (c)-Si-C-N thin film at the C and Si K-edge using the sample drain current mode, and at the N K-edge using the fluorescent mode. A resonance peak rese mbling the C Is core exciton in CVD-diamond/Si is observed, and a broa d feature occurring in the energy range between similar to 290 and 300 eV can be assigned to the antibonding C 2p-Si 3sp hybridized states a nd the C 2p-N 2sp hybridized states as well. Analysis of the N K-edge near edge absorption spectra reveals a similar feature in c-Si-C-N and a-Si3N4, suggesting that nitrogen atoms generally have similar local environment in these two materials. Moreover, results obtained from Si K-edge absorption spectra for c-Si-C-N demonstrate a proportional com bination of local Si-N and Si-C bonds, associated with the local tetra hedral C-Si-N-3 as well as the long-range ordered atomic structure aro und Si atoms. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.