Low-energy N+ ion beam induced chemical vapor deposition using tetraethyl orthosilicate, hexamethyldisiloxane, or hexamethyldigermane

In this study, we conducted an experiment in which a source material was sprayed onto a substrate with simultaneous N+ ion beam injections. Hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) or tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) was used as a source material. The energy of N+ ions was set at 100 eV. The substrate temperature was set at room temperature. As a result of each trial, a film was deposited on the substrate in both HMDSO and TEOS cases. The film was analyzed by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. We found that the film was silicon dioxide and nitrogen atoms (2–4 at. %) were included in the film. For comparison, a trial was also conducted in which hexamethyldigermane (HMDG) was sprayed onto a substrate with simultaneous 30 eV N+ ion beam injections. Although HMDG had no oxygen atoms in its molecule, XPS and FTIR results showed that the film was germanium oxide containing nitrogen (2 at. %).