Deposition of SiNx thin film using μ-SLAN surface wave plasma source

A slot antenna (μ-SLAN) microwave surface wave plasma source was developed for SiNx thin film preparation. A μ-SLAN-produced argon plasma density up to 1011 cm×3 has been achieved at an axial position of about 43 cm from the ring cavity at a microwave power of 500 W and a chamber pressure of 0.5 Torr. High-speed deposition of SiNx thin film was performed using the μ-SLAN-assisted remote plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition method incorporating tris(dimethylamino)silane (TDMAS) as a monomer source. The film deposition rate increased rapidly up to 270 nm/min when some hydrogen was mixed in the nitrogen gas and increased from 0 to 1%. A further increase of hydrogen content, however, only slightly increased the film deposition rate. A high deposition rate of 280 nm/min was obtained when 15% hydrogen was mixed in the nitrogen gas, with the chamber pressure and microwave power at 1.5 Torr and 500 W, respectively.