Barrier characteristics of PECVD alpha-SiC : H dielectrics

Abstract

This work investigates the thermal stability and barrier characteristics of three species of PECVD alpha-SiC:H dielectric films with dielectric constants between 3.5 and 5.4. It is found that the dielectric constant decreases with increasing content of carbon in the alpha-SiC:H film. All of the three specie's of alpha-SiC:H films are thermally stable at temperatures of up to 500degreesC. However, degraded barrier capability and moisture resistance were observed for the alpha-SiC:H film with a k value around 3.5, which has a C/Si atomic ratio of 0.875. This is presumably attributed to poorly crosslinked molecular structure and porosity enhancement by the abundant amount of carbon in the alpha-SiC:H film.