Amorphous silicon carbide thin films (a-SiC:H) deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition as protective coatings for harsh environment applications
We investigated amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC:H) thin films deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) as protective coatings for harsh environment applications. The influence of the deposition parameters on the film properties was studied. Stoichiometric films with a low tensile stress after annealing (< 50 MPa) were obtained with optimized parameters. The stability of a protective coating consisting of a PECVD amorphous silicon oxide layer (a-SiOx) and of an a-SiC:H layer was investigated through various aging experiments including annealing at high temperatures, autoclave testing and temperature cycling in air/water vapor environment. A platinum-based high-temperature metallization scheme deposited on oxidized Si substrates was used as a test vehicle. The a-SiOx/a-SiC:H stack showed the best performance when compared to standard passivation materials as amorphous silicon oxide or silicon nitride coatings.
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Fig. 1. Tilted SEM micrograph on an a-SiOx/a-SiC:H stack patterned to open the contact pads of the Pt metallization (a) and SEM cross-sectional micrograph of an a-SiOx/a-SiC:H sample in the as-processed state (b).
Source: Thin Solid Films
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