TEA CO2 pulsed laser deposition of silicon suboxide films

The growth of silicon suboxide films (SiOx, x < 2) by pulsed TEA CO2 laser ablation of SiO target at low substrate temperatures (less than or equal to 425 degreesC) in vacuum is reported. To understand the wavenumber shift of the asymmetric stretching band v(Si-O) with temperature the subbands obtained by fitting of infrared spectra using X-ray photoelectron data were located and studied. The structural properties of deposited films were investigated. Since relative concentration of oxygen is almost constant and relative concentration of elemental silicon and SiO2 in the films increases with the substrate temperature the shift of asymmetric stretching band v(Si-O) can be explained by rearrangement and relaxation processes in the films and/or by moving of oxygen atoms from Si2O, SiO and Si2O3 to Si and SiO2 silicon species creating the films. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.