Growth kinetics and compositional analysis of silicon rich a-SiNx:H film: A soft x-ray reflectivity study

Abstract

We report soft x-ray reflectivity measurements near the Si L2,3 absorption edge for Si-rich silicon nitride thin film obtained by Hg-sensitized photochemical vapor deposition. We demonstrate that the precise analysis of optical index profile derived over extended energy region gives compositional details of the film. This nondestructive approach is used in Si-rich silicon nitride film to reveal buried Si-rich interfacial layer. Further, the combined study of soft x-ray reflectivity and optical density obtained from the reflectivity fitting at various photon energies provide a qualitative estimation of the film composition and its growth.