Understanding Silicon Nitride Crystallization from Amorphous Deposited Layers with Molecular Dynamics

Under fabrication conditions normally-stable silicon nitride amorphous layers can exhibit anomalous crystallization which nucleates and grows. These pest crystalline structures negatively impact microelectronics performance and reduce batch yields. In this work, we use molecular dynamics simulations to investigate silicon nitride crystallization nucleation and growth properties as a function of temperature, defects, and local stress. In addition, differences between several models are investigated and the results are compared to recent experiments. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA-0003525.