Composition Tuning of Silicon Nitride Nanomaterial Synthesized by Plasma-Assisted Deposition Technique

Abstract

Composition tuning of silicon nitride nanostructures synthesized by plasma-assisted deposition technique was carried out in this work. The fractional composition of these nanostructures was tuned by varying the pressure of nitrogen gas used as reactive gas inside plasma chamber. The characterization tests included spectrophotometry in the UV, visible, and IR regions of electromagnetic spectrum. The fine control of preparation conditions can be used successfully to determine the structural composition of the final product, which would satisfy certain requirements and applications. Stoichiometric samples of silicon nitride (Si_xN_1-x) were prepared with energy bandgap varying within 4.97-5.39 eV as the gas mixture flow rate was varied within 2-20 Ltr/s.