Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition SiN films: Some electrical properties

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Abstract
Experimental data are presented on the effects of varying deposition parameters of silane/ammonia flow rate ratio, rf power, deposition pressure, and substrate temperature, on the resistivity and breakdown field, static and dynamic dielectric constants, activation energy, and barrier height, of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition SiN films prepared in the temperature range 100–300 °C. Results show a strong dependence of the breakdown field and resistivity on rf power, the former increasing by a factor of 5 and the latter by 11 orders of magnitude, as power varies from 50 to 250 W. Current–voltage measurements favor a Frenkel–Poole conduction process, with a barrier height in the range 0.8–1.2 eV and an activation energy in the range 0.29–0.45 eV. Annealing in nitrogen at 400 °C leads to a decrease in film resistivity. This is attributed to the loss of hydrogen, incorporated as Si–H and N–H bonds in the film. The decrease in positively charged dangling bonds is supported by the resulting shift in the flat-band voltage on a metal–insulator semiconductor structure. Partial recovery of film resistivity has been demonstrated through further annealing in hydrogen. Polarization and trapping instabilities in the capacitance–voltage measurements have also been observed.

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