Silicon oxide films were deposited by an individual PM helicon source using HMDSO as a precursor and N(2)O as the reactive gas at low temperature. The chemical structure and elemental composition of the films are characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and the optical and mechanical properties of the films are evaluated by a thin-film metrology system using reflectance spectra and a nanoindenter. The experimental results show that the N(2)O ratio in the plasma has a strong impact on the optical and structural characteristics of the deposited films: with increasing N(2)O flow ratios, the hardness of the deposited films increases while the deposition rate and carbon content decreases. At the same time, the characteristics of the oxide films gradually shift away from those of polymers towards those of SiO(2) The technique presented here may find applications in making barrier films for polymer substrates.
