Publication detail

Optical Characterization of Non-Stoichiometric Silicon Nitride Films Exhibiting Combined Defects

VOHÁNKA, J. OHLÍDAL, I. OHLÍDAL, M. ŠUSTEK, Š. ČERMÁK, M. ŠULC, V. VAŠINA, P. ŽENÍŠEK, J. FRANTA, D.

Original Title

Optical Characterization of Non-Stoichiometric Silicon Nitride Films Exhibiting Combined Defects

Type

journal article in Web of Science

Language

English

Original Abstract

The study was devoted to optical characterization of non-stoichiometric silicon nitride films prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering in argon-nitrogen atmosphere onto cold (unheated) substrates. It was found that these films exhibit the combination of three defects: optical inhomogeneity (refractive index profile across the films), uniaxial anisotropy with the optical axis perpendicular to the boundaries and random roughness of the upper boundaries. The influence of the uniaxial anisotropy was included into the corresponding formulae of the optical quantities using the matrix formalism and the approximation of the inhomogeneous layer by a multilayer system consisting of large number thin homogeneous layers. The random roughness was described using the scalar diffraction theory. The processing of the experimental data was performed using the multi-sample modification of the least-squares method, in which experimental data of several samples differing in thickness were processed simultaneously. The dielectric response of the silicon nitride films was modeled using the modification of the universal dispersion model, which takes into account absorption processes corresponding to valence-to-conduction band electron transitions, excitonic effects and Urbach tail. The spectroscopic reflectometric and ellipsometric measurements were supplemented by measuring the uniformity of the samples using imaging spectroscopic reflectometry of the samples using imaging spectroscopic reflectometry.

Keywords

silicon nitride; optical characterization; ellipsometry; inhomogeneous films; optical anisotropy

Authors

VOHÁNKA, J.; OHLÍDAL, I.; OHLÍDAL, M.; ŠUSTEK, Š.; ČERMÁK, M.; ŠULC, V.; VAŠINA, P.; ŽENÍŠEK, J.; FRANTA, D.

Released

28. 6. 2019

Publisher

MDPI

Location

ST ALBAN-ANLAGE 66, CH-4052 BASEL, SWITZERLAND

ISBN

2079-6412

Periodical

Coatings, MDPI

Year of study

˙9

Number

7

State

Swiss Confederation

Pages from

1

Pages to

21

Pages count

21

URL

https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6412/9/7/416

Full text in the Digital Library

http://hdl.handle.net/11012/188997

BibTex

@article{BUT157633,
  author="Jíří {Vohánka} and Ivan {Ohlídal} and Miloslav {Ohlídal} and Štěpán {Šustek} and Martin {Čermák} and Václav {Šulc} and Petr {Vašina} and Jaroslav {Ženíšek} and Daniel {Franta}",
  title="Optical Characterization of Non-Stoichiometric Silicon Nitride Films Exhibiting Combined Defects",
  journal="Coatings, MDPI",
  year="2019",
  volume="˙9",
  number="7",
  pages="1--21",
  doi="10.3390/coatings9070416",
  issn="2079-6412",
  url="https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6412/9/7/416"
}