Short range order and the nature of defects and traps in amorphous silicon oxynitride governed by the Mott rule

Using valence band and Si 2p core level photoelectron spectroscopy, it is shown that the short range order in amorphous silicon oxynitride /a-SiOxNy) is governed by the Mott rule. According to this rule, each Si atom is coordinated by four O and/or N atoms, each O atom las in SiO2) is coordinated by two Si atoms, and each N atom las in Si3N4) is coordinated by three Si atoms. The nature of the removal of Si-Si bonds (hole trap) at the interface of SiO2/Si by nitridation and the origin of Si-Si bond creation near the top surface of gate oxynitride in metal-oxide-semiconductor devices are understood for the first time by the Mott rule.