New Silicon-Carbon Materials Incorporating Si4C Building Blocks

Abstract

AbstractNovel precursor chemistry and ultrahigh-vacuum chemical vapor deposition have been used to deposit Si1-yCyth in films on (001) Si substrates. Films with carbon compositions ranging up to 20 at. % were deposited at substrate temperatures of 600–750°C using interactions of C(SiH3)4 or C(SiH2Cl)4 (C-H free precursors incorporating Si4C tetrahedra) and SiH4 gas mixtures. The composition of the resulting materials was obtained by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry including carbon resonance analysis. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy and infrared spectroscopy were used to provide microstructural and bonding information respectively. The effect of precursor chemistry on the composition and structure of the materials is discussed.