Similarities in the electrical conduction processes in hydrogenated amorphous silicon oxynitride and silicon nitride

Electrical conduction at high fields was examined in a series of hydrogenated amorphous silicon oxynitride and silicon nitride films with different nitrogen contents deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition. It was shown that the conduction is attributable to the Poole-Frenkel (PF) emission in the two materials. The energy depths of the PF sites and the dependences on the sample's chemical composition are quite similar for the two samples. It is considered that the PF sites in the two materials are identical.