The phase composition and physicochemical properties of transparent nanocomposite films of silicon oxycarbonitride

Abstract

Films of hydrogenated SiC_xN_yO_z:H obtained by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition from a mixture of 1,1,3,3-tetramethyldisilazane with oxygen and nitrogen (TMDS+ O₂+xN₂) in the temperature range 373-973 K are nanocomposites in whose amorphous part nanocrystals belonging to phases of the Si–C–N: α-Si_3–xC_xN₄ system and graphite are distributed. A change in the chemical composition of gas mixtures enables the preparation of SiC_xN_yO_z:H films with a broad variation range of functional properties, such as the 1.45-2.15 variation of the refractive index; the controlled transparency (T ~ 92-99.7%) in the UV, visible, and IR spectral ranges; tunable characteristics of the band gap (3.5-5.4 eV), and dielectric constants (5.2-5.8).