From organosilicon precursors to multifunctional silicon carbonitride

Films of silicon carbonitride of variable composition are prepared by the method of plasmochemical decomposition of tetramethyldisilazane, hexamethyldisilazane, and hexamethylcyclotrisilazane in the mixture with helium in the temperature range of 373-973 K. The chemical composition of the low temperature films (373-673 K) is described by the formula SiC (x) N (y) O (z) :H, whereas that of high temperature films, by the formula SiC (x) N (y) . The films of silicon carbonitride are found to be a nanocomposite material containing an amorphous part and nanocrystals, whose structure is close to the phase alpha-Si3N4. Films of the composition SiC (x) N (y) O (z) :H are promising as low-k interlayer dielectrics in ultra-large scale integrated circuits of new generation, as well as protecting antireflective coatings and light-emitting diodes.