SiOxNy thin films with variable refraction index: Microstructural, chemical and mechanical properties

In this work amorphous silicon oxynitride films with similar composition (ca. Si0.40N0.45O0.10) were deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering from a pure Si target under different N2–Ar mixtures. Rutherford backscattering (RBS) studies revealed that the coatings presented similar composition but different density. The mechanical properties evaluated by nanoindentation show also a dependence on the deposition conditions that does not correlate with a change in composition. An increase in nitrogen content in the gas phase results in a decrease of hardness and Youngʹs modulus. The microstructural study by high resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM-FEG) on non-metalized samples allowed the detection of a close porosity in the form of nano-voids (3–15 nm in size), particularly in the coatings prepared under pure N2 gas. It has been shown how the presence of the close porosity allows tuning the refraction index of the films in a wide range of values without modifying significantly the chemical, thermal and mechanical stability of the film.