Preparation of silicon carbide nitride thin ®lms by sputtering of silicon nitride target

Amorphous silicon carbide nitride thin ®lms were synthesized on single crystal silicon (0 0 1) substrates by rf reactive sputtered a silicon nitride target in methane and argon atmosphere. The effects of sputtering parameters such as target voltage in the range of 1.6±3.0 kVon the optical properties were studied by a Cary 500 UN-VIS-NIR spectrophotometer and Bio-Rad FTS 185 FTIR spectrometer. The results showed that the deposition rate reached maximal at the target voltage of 2.5 kV. The refractive index, n, decrease with increase of target voltage except the sample deposited on 1.6 kV. Moreover, the maximal proportion of Si±C and C±N bond achieved at the target voltage of 2.5 and 2.0 kV, respectively. It re¯ects that the bonding con®guration can be tailored by adjusting the target voltage. # 2001 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.