Electrical properties of silicon nitride films prepared by electron cyclotron resonance assisted sputter deposition

Silicon nitride films have been deposited using electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma-assisted rf sputter deposition. Variation in composition and electrical properties of the deposited films has been studied. Films with specific resistivity of 1013 Ω cm and a dielectric constant of 7 have been obtained at a ECR power of 100 W (corresponding to an ion flux of 1x1010 cm-3). These films exhibited minimum interface density of 2x1010 eV-1 cm-2 and have a critical field of 5 MV/cm. Detailed electrical characterization of the films has been carried out to study the variation of interface density with ECR power and to identify the conduction mechanism