De Luca, D.; Di Gennaro, E.; De Maio, D.; D’Alessandro, C.; Caldarelli, A.; Musto, M.; Koral, C.; Andreone, A.; Fittipaldi, R.; Di Meo, V.; et al. Tuning Silicon Nitride Refractive Index through Radio-Frequency Sputtering Power. Thin Solid Films, 2021, 737, 138951. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2021.138951.
De Luca, D.; Di Gennaro, E.; De Maio, D.; D’Alessandro, C.; Caldarelli, A.; Musto, M.; Koral, C.; Andreone, A.; Fittipaldi, R.; Di Meo, V.; et al. Tuning Silicon Nitride Refractive Index through Radio-Frequency Sputtering Power. Thin Solid Films, 2021, 737, 138951. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2021.138951.
De Luca, D.; Di Gennaro, E.; De Maio, D.; D’Alessandro, C.; Caldarelli, A.; Musto, M.; Koral, C.; Andreone, A.; Fittipaldi, R.; Di Meo, V.; et al. Tuning Silicon Nitride Refractive Index through Radio-Frequency Sputtering Power. Thin Solid Films, 2021, 737, 138951. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2021.138951.
De Luca, D.; Di Gennaro, E.; De Maio, D.; D’Alessandro, C.; Caldarelli, A.; Musto, M.; Koral, C.; Andreone, A.; Fittipaldi, R.; Di Meo, V.; et al. Tuning Silicon Nitride Refractive Index through Radio-Frequency Sputtering Power. Thin Solid Films, 2021, 737, 138951. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2021.138951.
Abstract
The fabrication of thin-film multilayer structures by sputtering technique usually requires multi-cathode deposition machine. This study proposes a simpler approach based on the RF power modulation: silicon nitride (SiN$_x$) thin films were prepared by RF reactive sputtering in (Ar + N$_2$) atmosphere at room temperature. The samples were analyzed to highlight the effects of different deposition conditions on the morphological and optical properties of the films in the visible and near/mid-IR regions. The refractive index of the films was changed in the range of 1.5 - 2.5 (at $\lambda$=800 nm) by tuning the sputtering power. IR reflectance measurements revealed the absence of spurious (oxygen- or hydrogen-based) phases, while atomic force and scanning electron microscopies confirmed the presence of flat and defect-free samples surfaces.
Keywords
Silicon nitride; RF sputtering; refractive index; FTIR; AFM; SEM
Subject
Engineering, Chemical Engineering
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
