SYNTHESIS OF MAGNETIC NANOCOMPOSITE FILMS SiCxNyFez BY PLASMA-ENHANCED CHEMICAL DECOMPOSITION OF A GASEOUS MIXTURE OF 1,1,1,3,3,3-HEXAMETHYLDISILAZANE, FERROCENE, AND HELIUM

A novel method is developed for the preparation of magnetic composite films with a complex composition SiCxNyFez using radio frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor decomposition of a gaseous mixture of 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexamethyldisilazane [(CH3)3Si]2NH, ferrocene (C5H5)2Fe, and helium. The films of various compositions are deposited in the temperature region 373-873 K. The dependence of physicochemical and functional properties of SiCxNyFez films on the synthesis conditions is studied with a number of modern methods such as IR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, EDS, XPS, powder XRD. The IR spectra exhibit the same system of bonds as that in silicon carbonitride films, while the Raman spectra contain modes D and G indicating a presence of an impurity disordered graphite phase. It is established by the Faraday method and by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) that SiCxNyFez films prepared at 573-873 K are magnetic. According to the XPS data, the SiCxNyFez films may contain α-Fe, FeSi, or β-FeSi2 phases with similar binding energies; as a result, the composition of these films is difficult to determine.