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Control and Variation of Stress in Pecvd SiNx Films on InP

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2011

J. Lopata ,
W. C. Dautremont-Smith  and
J. W. Lee
J. Lopata
Affiliation:
AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ 07974
W. C. Dautremont-Smith
Affiliation:
AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ 07974
J. W. Lee
Affiliation:
AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ 07974
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Abstract

Stress in plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposited (PECVD) SiNx films on InP has been evaluated as a function of source gases (NH3 /SiH4 or N2/SiH4) and plasma operating frequency (high, » 1 MHz or low, « 1 MHz). All films were deposited at 300°C in the same parallel-plate, radial flow plasma reactor. Levels of stress in PECVD SiNx on InP within a continuous range from moderately high tensile (∼ 5 × 109 dyne cm−2) to very high compressive (2 × 1010 dyne cm−2 ) were obtained from appropriate choices of deposition parameters. Deposition from NH3/SiH4 at high frequency produces tensile stress, of magnitude increasing with NH3/SiH4 flow ratio. Deposition from N2/SiH4 at high frequency produces zero to low compressive stress. At low frequency compressive stress is always produced; for N2/SiH4 increasing the gas flow ratio from 25:1 to 500:1 reduces the compressive stress from 1.8 X 1010 to 7 × 108 dyne cm−2. The ability to vary the stress in a dielectric film of approximately constant chemical composition over such a broad range is beneficial for assessing the effects of stress on device performance.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 130: Symposium C – Thin Films: Stresses and Mechanical Properties I , 1988 , 361
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1989

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