Mechanical characterisation of Si–C–N thin films prepared by electron cyclotron resonance plasma chemical vapour deposition at low microwave power and low temperature

Si–C–N thin films with smooth surfaces were synthesised by electron cyclotron resonance plasma chemical vapour deposition at low microwave powers without heating silicon substrates. Mechanical properties of obtained films were examined by nanoindentation based on Oliver and Pharr method. High elastic recovery was observed. Hardness and reduced modulus show no clear relation with the elastic/plastic work calculated from load–displacement curves. The energy dissipation kept almost constant with respect to the variation of stiffness during loading and unloading process. This opens the possibility of potential industrial applications due to the insensitivity of the deposited films to external stress.