Low Temperature Silicon Nitride by Hot Wire Chemical Vapour Deposition for the Use in Impermeable Thin Film Encapsulation on Flexible Substrates

High quality non porous silicon nitride layers were deposited by hot wire chemical vapour deposition at substrate temperatures lower than 110 C. The layer properties were investigated using FTIR, reflection/transmission measurements and 1:6 buffered HF etching rate. A Si–H peak position of 2180 cm−1 in the Fourier transform infrared absorption spectrum indicates a N/Si ratio around 1.2. Together with a refractive index of 1.97 at a wavelength of 632 nm and an extinction coefficient of 0.002 at 400 nm, this suggests that a transparent high density silicon nitride material has been made below 110 C, which is compatible with polymer films and is expected to have a high impermeability. To confirm the compatibility with polymer films a silicon nitride layer was deposited on poly(glycidyl methacrylate) made by initiated chemical vapour deposition, resulting in a highly transparent double layer.