Chemical Composition of SiOx Films Deposited by an Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet (APPJ)

SiOx films are deposited with an APPJ (27 MHz) using Ar, O2 and OMCTS [Si4O4(CH3)8]. An experimental study on the influence of the O2 versus OMCTS concentration on the chemical composition of the films and their radial gradients over the static deposition profile is carried out by means of XPS and ATR-FT-IR. The films are characterized by dominating SiO IR absorption and the absence of CH2 and CH3 bands, indicating the inorganic SiOx character. From the absorbance differences of the three SiO IR bands present in the spectra, the existence of different structural phases is derived. Over the examined parameter field, three different structural phases are distinguished. Their occurrence can be seen as a marker for the film quality and allows formulating optimal deposition conditions for defined structures of organosilicon films.

[1]  A. Yanguas-Gil,et al.  Thin film deposition by means of atmospheric pressure microplasma jet , 2007 .

[2]  Jaeyoung Park,et al.  The atmospheric-pressure plasma jet: a review and comparison to other plasma sources , 1998 .

[3]  Jan Schäfer,et al.  Local deposition of SiOx plasma polymer films by a miniaturized atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) , 2008 .

[4]  E. R. Fisher,et al.  Investigation of Gas Phase Species and Deposition of SiO2 Films from HMDSO/O2 Plasmas , 2006 .

[5]  A. S. da Silva Sobrinho,et al.  Ultrathin Silicon-Compound Barrier Coatings for Polymeric Packaging Materials: An Industrial Perspective , 2001 .

[6]  W. Kern,et al.  III-2 – Chemical Vapor Deposition of Inorganic Thin Films , 1978 .

[7]  Zhigang Xiao,et al.  Comparison of silicon dioxide layers grown from three polymethylsiloxane precursors in a high-density oxygen plasma , 2003 .

[8]  V. Litovchenko,et al.  IR spectroscopic investigation of SiO2 film structure , 1992 .

[9]  W. Bensch,et al.  An FT-IR study of silicon dioxides for VLSI microelectronics , 1990 .

[10]  Mounir Laroussi,et al.  Arc-Free Atmospheric Pressure Cold Plasma Jets: A Review , 2007 .

[11]  Bauer,et al.  Structure and growth of crystalline superlattices: From monolayer to superlattice. , 1986, Physical review. B, Condensed matter.

[12]  G. Lucovsky,et al.  Infrared spectroscopic study of SiOx films produced by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition , 1986 .

[13]  Jan Janča,et al.  Characterization of silicon oxide thin films deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition from octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane/oxygen feeds , 1999 .