A study of plasma-deposited amorphous SiOx:H (0 ≤ x ≤ 2.0) films using infrared spectroscopy

The Si-O stretching mode in amorphous SiOx:H (a-SiOx:H) films, prepared by rf glow discharge decomposition of a SiH4-O-2 mixture at 300 degrees C, has been investigated by infrared absorption measurements as a function of the O content x. It was found that the ratio, I-AS1/N-Si, of the absorption intensity of the Si-O stretching mode centered around 1000 cm(-1) to the density of Si atoms increased linearly with increasing x, up to x = 0.6. Above x = 0.6, the rate of increase of the I-AS1/N-Si, values became slower. However, the ratio, I-sum/N-Si, of sum of the absorption intensities for both 1000 and 1 150 cm(-1) bands to the density of Si atoms increased linearly with increasing x for x > 0.6. We obtained the proportionality coefficient, A(SiO), of the Si-O stretching mode to be 1.48 x 10(19) cm(-2). The characteristic of the Si-O stretching mode and the A(SiO) are discussed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.