The Optical and Thermo-Optical Properties of Non-Stoichiometric Silicon Nitride Layers Obtained by the PECVD Method with Varying Levels of Nitrogen Content
Stanisława Kluska,
Maria Jurzecka-Szymacha,
Natalia Nosidlak,
Piotr Dulian,
Janusz Jaglarz
Affiliations
Stanisława Kluska
Faculty of Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza Avenue 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
Maria Jurzecka-Szymacha
Faculty of Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza Avenue 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
Natalia Nosidlak
Department of Physics, Cracow University of Technology, Podchorążych Street 1, 30-084 Krakow, Poland
Piotr Dulian
Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Cracow University of Technology, Warszawska Street 24, 31-155 Krakow, Poland
Janusz Jaglarz
Institute of Materials Engineering, Cracow University of Technology, Jana Pawła II Avenue 37, 31-864 Krakow, Poland
In this paper, we investigated the optical and thermo-optical properties of a-SiNx:H layers obtained using the PECVD technique. SiNx:H layers with different refractive indices were obtained from silane and ammonia as precursor gases. Surface morphology and chemical composition studies were investigated using atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and energy dispersive spectrometry methods. Spectroscopic ellipsometry was used to determine the optical indexes, thicknesses and optical bandgap of the films. The main purpose was to identify the thermo-optical characteristics of layers with different refractive indexes. Thermo-optical studies were performed to determine the temperature hysteresis of optical parameters. These measurements showed that after annealing up to 300 °C and subsequent cooling, the value of optical parameters returned to the initial values.
