Investigation of the Dielectric and Mechanical Properties for Magnetron Sputtered BCN Thin Films

Abstract

Boron carbon nitride (BCN) thin films were deposited by a dual target DC and RF sputtering technique. The films were deposited using various combinations of nitrogen and argon working gases and B4C, BN, and C targets. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier-transform infra-red spectroscopy were utilized, respectively, to investigate the changes in chemical composition and bonding that occurred for films deposited under various N2/Ar gas flow ratios and DC/RF target powers. The composition and bonding were correlated to separate measurements of the BCN mass density, dielectric constant, Young's modulus, and hardness. All BCN films were observed to have relatively low mass densities ranging from 2.0-2.5 g/cm3. BN rich BCN films were observed to be insulating with relatively low dielectric constants of 3.9-4.6 and Young's modulus and hardness values of 110-150 GPa and 5-13 GPa, respectively. BC rich BCN films were observed to be comparatively leaky dielectrics but did exhibit extreme mechanical properties with Young's modulus and hardness values exceeding in some cases 300 GPa and 30 GPa, respectively.