Hydrogen Content in a-SiC:H Films Prepared by Plasma Decomposition of Silane and Methane or Ethylene

The hydrogen content in a-SiC:H films prepared by the plasma decomposition of gas mixtures of silane and methane or ethylene was measured by 1H(15N, αγ)12C nuclear reaction (NR) and infrared absorption spectroscopy (IR). The contents observed by both methods can be made to agree well for most of the films by putting the average value of the inverse absorption cross section for the CHn (n=1, 2 and 3) stretching mode over all values of n as As=1.0×1021 cm-2. In some films prepared from silane and ethylene mixtures, the hydrogen content given by NR was higher than that by IR. Hydrogen release from films with a hydrogen content of over 30 atm.% was observed during NR analysis. The mechanism of the hydrogen release is discussed by comparing the IR spectra before and after ion bombardment.