CRYSTALLIZATION BEHAVIOR OF AMORPHOUS SI1-XCX FILMS PREPARED BY R.F. SPUTTERING

The crystallization behaviour of amorphous Si1-xC(x) films with x = 0.11, 0.38, 0.48 and 0.75 prepared by r.f. sputtering was studied using IR spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy, where films were annealed isothermally at 700-1100-degrees-C for 1 h. The broad transmission bands in IR spectra at 700-800 cm-1 for as-deposited films became sharper and their peak positions shifted to the higher frequency side with increasing annealing temperature. The wavenumber of the peak positions reached finally 818 cm-1 for x = 0.11 and 800 cm-1 for x = 0.38, 0.48 and 0.75, the corresponding microstructures being polycrystalline beta-SiC and silicon, and beta-SiC and amorphous graphite respectively. The crystallization temperature of stoichiometric SiC film was the highest, and the greater the deviation of the composition from stoichiometry, the lower the crystallization temperature. From the kinematic analyses of the results of IR measurements for the films with x = 0.11, the activation energy of the crystallization process was found to be about 7.1 eV.