Structural, optical and electrical characteristics of silicon carbon nitride

Dielectric layers of thin silicon carbon nitride (SiCxNy) films have been prepared by ion beam sputtering deposition (IBD). For submicron metal-insulator-Si (MIS) based device applications, a dielectric of low interface roughness, increased capacitance/area with lower leakage on decreasing scale is highly desirable. We address these aspects for the IBD SiCxNy films on p-type Si and present their structural, optical and electrical characteristics as a function of the deposition conditions. Ultraviolet-visible transmittance and spectroscopic ellipsometry were employed to study the optical properties of the SiCxNy films. For electrical measurements, Al gate electrodes were fabricated on SiCxNy alms to form metal-nitride-silicon (MNS) diodes. Characteristic I-V and photoconductivity measurements of the MNS are presented.