Structural stability of ultrathin silicon oxynitride ®lm improved by incorporated nitrogen

We annealed ultrathin silicon oxynitride ®lms at high temperatures and in high vacuum, and investigated a role of nitrogen in structural stability with angle resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The desorption rate of oxygen from the oxynitride ®lms is much less than that from oxide ®lms at 8008C. Incorporated nitrogen does not desorb from the ®lms, although Si±N bonds are gradually broken above 8008C. Incorporated nitrogen enhances the thermal stability of the oxynitride ®lms. # 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.