Interface effects in amorphous silicon/nitride multilayers

This paper clarifies the role of interfaces on amorphous silicon/nitride superlattice stuctures using TEM, SIMS and ESR measurements. Contrary to the common assumption of atomically sharp interfaces, the interface width is determined to be of the order of ∼10 A ̊, arising from the reactive nature of the plasma. Moreover, our results indicate that there is a high density of charge residing at the interface, causing significant band bending in the multilayers.