Room Temperature Deposition of Silicon Nitride Films for Passivation of Organic Electroluminescence Device Using a Sputtering-Type Electron Cyclotron Resonance Plasma

Dense silicon nitride (SiN) films were deposited at room temperature by a sputtering technique using an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma. Film properties were studied using ellipsometry, chemical etching, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and thermal desorption spectroscopy. A SiN film deposited under the optimum condition of nitrogen gas flow rate had a refractive index of 2.03 and showed a large Si–N bond number. The SiN film had a high barrier against moisture penetration relative to SiN films prepared by chemical vapor deposition at 900°C. This indicates that the film deposited using a sputtering-type ECR plasma has the potential to be utilized as a passivation layer of devices such as organic electroluminescence, which require low temperature processing.