Residual stress in silicon nitride films

Abstract

The mechanical stress caused by Si3N4 films on (111) oriented Si wafers was studied as a function of the Si3N4 film thickness, deposition rate, deposition temperature and film composition. The Si3N4 films were prepared by the reaction of gaseous SiH4 and NH3 in the temperature range 700-1000°C. The curvature of the Si substrates caused by the Si3N4. films is related to the film stress; the substrate curvature was measured by an optical interference technique. The measured Si3N4. film stress was found to be highly tensile with a magnitude of about 1010 dynes/cm2. For the thickness range of 2000-5000Å, there was no change in the measured stress. The total film stress was observed to decrease for decreasing deposition rate and increasing deposition temperature. A large change in film stress was observed for films containing excess Si; the stress decreased with increasing Si content. Based on published values for the thermal expansion coefficients for Si and Si3N4, a published value for Young's Modulus for Si3N4, and the measured total stress values, a consistent argument is developed in which the total stress consists of a compressive component due to thermal expansion coefficient mismatch and a larger tensile intrinsic stress component. Both the thermal and intrinsic stress components vary with film deposition temperature in directions which decrease the total room temperature stress for higher deposition temperatures. © 1976 American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, Inc.