Hydrogen distribution in oxynitride/oxide structures

Abstract

Silicon oxynitride films with five different O/N ratios were deposited with low pressure chemical vapor deposition on a silicon substrate covered with an oxide. The films were subjected to subsequent post-deposition anneals in N2 and H2 at 1000°C, and a H plasma at 300°C to obtain information about the hydrogen chemistry. The overall film compositions were determined with elastic recoil detection. The resonant reaction 15N(1H, αγ)12C was used to obtain hydrogen depth profiles. The hydrogen depth profiles are characterized by a value for the bulk concentration and width of the interfacial region. We found that the stability of the hydrogen in the bulk has a maximum for O/N ≈ 0.32. From the measured interfacial widths we deduced that for low values of O/N the stability of hydrogen in the interfacial region is relatively large. For intermediate values of O/N the stability of the hydrogen in the bulk and the interfacial region do not differ significantly, while for high O/N a relatively low stability of the interfacial hydrogen is observed. The O/N dependence of the stability of the interfacial hydrogen is consistent with the bulk stability if we assume that the interfacial oxynitride is oxygen enriched as compared to the bulk oxygen concentration.