Microstructure of SiO_x:H films prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition

The micro-Raman spectroscopy and infrared (IR) spectroscopy have been performed for the study of the microstructure of amorphous hydrogenated oxidized silicon (a-SiO_x:H) films prepared by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition technique. It is found that a-SiO_x:H consists of two phases: an amorphous silicon-rich phase and an oxygen-rich phase mainly comprised of HSi-SiO₂ and HSi-O₃. The Raman scattering results exhibit that the frequency of TO-like mode of amorphous silicon red-shifts with decreasing size of silicon-rich region. This is related to the quantum confinement effects, similar to the nanocrystalline silicon.