Characterization of Si3N4 thin films prepared by r.f. magnetron sputtering

Silicon nitride has excellent properties as a refractory material. Crystalline Si3N4 ceramics exhibit stability at high temperatures, high electrical resistivity and extreme hardness. On the other hand, in electronic device fabrication, Si3N4 thin layers are used for encapsulation and packaging in integrated circuits and they may be used as the gate dielectric layer in thin film transistors and in metal-nitride-oxide–silicon devices. In the present work, we studied the composition and the effect on the electrical behavior of thin films prepared by r.f. magnetron sputtering with some different gases (reactive and non-reactive).