Determination of the oxygen content in amorphous SiOx thin films

Abstract The bonding structure and composition of amorphous silicon suboxide (a-SiO x , 0.25  x x values evaluated by RBS, the proportionality coefficient A SiO of the Si-O-Si asymmetric stretching modes was determined to be 2 × 10 19  cm −2 . Details of the A SiO calculation, the dependence of the silicon atomic density on x , and the limits of integration were discussed. The significant overestimation of the x values obtained from the Si-O-Si stretching mode position in the IR spectra of the films in comparison with the actual values and the presence of a high-frequency shoulder centered at ~ 1140 cm −1 in the IR spectra indicates the inhomogeneity of the structure of the films. At the same time, the parameters of the Si-O-Si asymmetric stretching band (position and full width at half maximum) indicate the absence of a strict phase separation in the structure of the synthesized films, which are thus described by the intermediate model.