Incorporation of hydrogen and oxygen into (t)a-C:H thin films deposited using DECR plasma

A distributed electron cyclotron resonance (DECR) plasma reactor powered by a microwave generator operating at 2.45 GHz (800 W) was used to deposit (t)a-C:H thin films at RT on <100> Si substrates RF biased within the range 25 < |Vo| < 600 V. C2H2 was used as precursor. The plasma pressure was varied within the range 0. 1 < P < 1 .5 mTorr. The films were analysed using spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The hydrogen content NH and the density of the films were determined from nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) using the resonance at 6.385 MeV of the reaction: 15N + 1H ---> 12C + 4He + Gamma. Positron annihilation spectroscopy was used to detect the porosity. The evolutions of NH as a function of the substrate ion current density n+ and as a function of Vo show that the hydrogen incorporation results from the competition between chemisorption and deposited energy density related effects. The increase of the hydrogen incorporation leads to a decrease in the film density and a lower deposition rate. The porosity of the films deposited at low pressure (~ 0. 1 mTorr) with Vo = - 80 V has been detected. The comparison between results of SRIM-2000 simulations and the evolution of NH as a function of Vo shows that the porosity and the hydrogen content are not correlated. The absorption of oxygen and nitrogen for the low density films has been detected from the observation of the 3250-4000 cm-1 infrared (IR) band.