Ellipsometric and Rutherford Back scattering Spectrometry studies of SiO(X)N(Y) films elaborated by plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition technique.

Silicon oxynitride (SiO(X)N(Y)) thin films were deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition technique (PECVD) from silane (SiH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), ammonia (NH3) and nitrogen (N2) mixture. Spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE), in the range of wavelengths 450-900 nm, was used to define the film thickness and therefore the deposition rate, as well as the refractive index as a function of the N2O gaseous flow. While considering the (Si3N4, SiO2, H2 or void) heterogeneous mixture, Maxwell Garnett (MG) theory allows to fit the SE measurements and to define the volume fraction of the different phases. Finally, Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) results showed that x = O/Si ratio increases gradually with increasing the N2O flow, allowing the correlation of the SiO(X)N(Y) films main parameters.