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http://dx.doi.org/10.4191/KCERS.2005.42.5.359

Characterization of Silicon Nitride Coating Films  

Go, Cheolho (Department of Materials Engineering, Graduate School of Kyungnam University)
Kim, Bongseob (Department of Materials Engineering, Graduate School of Kyungnam University)
Yun, Jondo (Division of Advanced Materials Engineering, Kyungnam University)
Kim, Kwangho (Division of Materials Engineering, Pusan National University)
Publication Information
Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society / v.42, no.5, 2005 , pp. 359-365 More about this Journal
Abstract
Silicon nitride coating films with various ratios of nitrogen to silicon contents were prepared and characterized. The film was coated on silicon substrate by sputtering method with changing nitrogen gas flow rate in a chamber. The nitrogen to silicon ratio was found to have values in a range from 0 to 1.4. Coated film was characterized with scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, electron probe microanalysis, nanoindentation scanning probe microscopy, x-ray photon spectrometry, and Raman spectrometry. Silicon nitride phase in all samples showed amorphous nature regardless of N/Si ratio. When N/Si ratio was 1.25, hardness and elastic modulus of silicon nitride film showed maximum with 22 GPa and 210 GPa, respectively. Those values decreased, when N/Si ratio was higher than 1.25. Raman spectrum showed that no silicon phase exist in the film. XPS result showed that the silicon-nitrogen bond was dominant way for atomic bonding in the film. The structure and property was explained with Random Bonding Model(RBM) which was consistent with the microstructure and chemistry analysis for the coating films.
Keywords
Silicon nitride; Hardness; Elastic modulus; Non-stoichiometry; Nanoindentation;
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