Nanoindentation creep of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposited silicon oxide thin films

The time-dependent plastic properties of both as-deposited and annealed plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposited (PECVD) silicon oxide (SiOx) thin films were probed by nanoindentation creep tests at room temperature. Our experiments found a strong size effect in the creep responses of the as-deposited PECVD SiOx thin films, which was much reduced after annealing. Based on the experimental results, the deformation mechanism is depicted by the “shear transformation zone” (STZ) based amorphous plasticity theories.