Deposition and properties of silicon oxynitride films with low propagation losses by inductively coupled PECVD at 150 °C

Silicon oxynitride films were deposited at 150 °C using inductively coupled plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, aiming towards low-temperature fabrication of waveguide material with low optical losses in the visible and near-infrared range. The influence of the deposition parameters such as SiH4 fraction, deposition pressure and Ar/N2 ratio on the film properties was experimentally investigated using spectroscopic ellipsometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. These findings were consistent with the chemical modeling of gas-phase composition of the plasma thereby leading to better understanding of the deposition process.