LOW-TEMPERATURE SYNTHESIS OF SILICON-OXIDE, OXYNITRIDE, AND NITRIDE FILMS BY PULSED EXCIMER-LASER ABLATION

Silicon oxide, oxynitride, and nitride films are deposited, at low temperature (less-than-or-equal-to 450-degrees-C) by pulsed ArF excimer laser ablation from silicon, silicon monoxide, fused silica, and silicon nitride targets, performed under vacuum and in an oxygen atmosphere. The specific influence of laser fluence, target materials, substrate temperature, and oxygen pressure on the composition and final properties of SiO(x)N(y) grown layers is investigated using various complementary experiments such as infrared optical absorption, Rutherford backscattering, Auger electron spectroscopy, ellipsometry, and scanning electron microscopy. The process conditions are optimized in order to deposit good quality silicon oxide and silicon nitride thin films.