Structural analysis and microstructural observation of SiCxNy films prepared by reactive sputtering of SiC in N-2 and Ar

In this paper, the amorphous silicon carbonitride (SiCxNy) films were prepa red by radio frequency (RF) magnetron reactive sputtering using sintered Si C target. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infr ared spectrometer (FTIR) were used for structural characterization of the f ilms. The results revealed the formation of complex networks among the thre e elements (Si, C and N) and the existence of different chemical bonds in t he SiCxNy films such as C-N, C=N C drop N, Si-C and Si-N. The stoichiometry of the as-deposited films was found to be close to SiCN. Atomic force micr oscopy (AFM) observation showed a very smooth surface morphology of the as- deposited films, which was proved to be amorphous by high-resolution electr on micrography (HREM) and selected area diffraction (SAD) and remained very stable even after exposure to electron bombardment. (C) 2000 Elsevier Scie nce B.V. All rights reserved.