We demonstrate a vertical integration of high-Q silicon nitride microresonators into the silicon-on-insulator platform for applications at the telecommunication wavelengths. Low-loss silicon nitride films with a thickness of 400 nm are successfully grown, enabling compact silicon nitride microresonators with ultra-high intrinsic Qs (~ 6 × 10(6) for 60 μm radius and ~ 2 × 10(7) for 240 μm radius...

The history of silicon nitride (Si3N4) has been described previously; detailed analyses of particles of meteroritic rock have been shown to contain silicon nitride crystals, suggesting that this material exists naturally in the galaxy.1 Synthetic Si3N4 was probably developed by Deville and Wöhler in 1859. Commercial interest in this material increased in the 1950s, as the material properties of...

A corona discharge is used to create and store negative charge in the silicon nitride films of silicon dioxide/silicon nitride stacks. Effective lifetime measurements on both textured and planar, as well as both boron diffused and undiffused silicon samples passivated with silicon oxide/silicon nitride stacks, show that the creation of negative charge in the nitride layer results in an improvem...

Wafers with 1 μm LPCVD silicon-rich nitride layers have been successfully direct bonded to silicon-rich nitride and boron-doped silicon surfaces. A chemical–mechanical polishing treatment was necessary to reduce the surface roughness of the nitride before bonding. The measured surface energies of the room-temperature bond were comparable to values found for Si–Si hydrophilic bonding. A mechanis...

Silicon-on-nitride ridge waveguides are demonstrated and characterized at midand near-infrared optical wavelengths. Silicon-on-nitride thin films were achieved by bonding a silicon handling die to a silicon-on-insulator die coated with a low-stress silicon nitride layer. Subsequent removal of the silicon-on-insulator substrate results in a thin film of silicon on a nitride bottom cladding, read...

Low pressure chemical vapor deposition ~LPCVD! of silicon nitride from bis~tertiary-butylamino!silane ~BTBAS! and ammonia precursors has been demonstrated at 550-600°C in a 200 mm vertical batch furnace system. Deposition rates of 4-30 Å/min are achieved with a film thickness variation below 2% 1-sigma. Silicon nitride depositions using BTBAS and NH3 were found to retain a significant mass-tran...

Electron transport in silicon nanopillars has been studied for pillars with zero, one, or two silicon nitride barrier layers of 2 nm thickness. Evidence of Coulomb blockade is presented and the role of the silicon nitride layers is discussed. Wide zero current regions are observed for some devices with two silicon nitride tunnel barriers and these are attributed to the formation of fully deplet...

In this paper, we present our main results on the structural and optical properties of light-emitting amorphous silicon nitride (SiNx) films fabricated by reactive magnetron cosputtering. In particular, we discuss the origin of the visible emission in amorphous silicon nitride films and investigate the optical emission properties of Erbium-doped amorphous silicon nitride (Er:SiNx). The mechanis...

The goals of this work were to synthesize stoichiometric silicon carbon nitride (Si1.5C1.5N4) films using the RF-PECVD method and to characterize the deposited material. Gas mixtures, as opposed to an organic monomer, were chosen for reactants. Gas mixtures allow for varying the concentration of the elements needed for silicon carbon nitride synthesis and thereby optimizing the composition of t...