Effect of Thermal Annealing on the Optical and Structural Properties of the a-SiC Thin Films Deposited by DC Magnetron Sputtering

Hydrogenated Amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC:H) thin films were prepared by DC magnetron sputtering technique using 6H-SiC polycrystalline target in a mixture of H2and Ar gas. They were thermally annealed at various temperatures up to 800 °C. The a-SiC:H films were deposited at different hydrogen partial pressure rates varying from 0 to 9 sccm on p-type Si(100) and Corning glass 9075 substrates. The annealing temperatures were varied and the samples were characterized by Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy and Ellipsometry spectroscopy. The previous results of infrared and Raman spectroscopy reveal structural modifications in the material structure of the layers through a reduction of the thickness and optical gap and the variation of the refractive index during the annealing.