UV laser deposition of nanostructured Si/C/O/N/H from disilazane precursors and evolution to silicon oxycarbonitride

Megawatt ArF laser photolysis of gaseous methyldisilazanes [(CH₃)_nH_3?nSi]₂NH (n = 2, 3) in excess of Ar yields hydrocarbons (major volatile products), methylsilanes (minor volatile products) and allows chemical vapour deposition of solid amorphous Si/C/O/N/H powder containing Si? X (X? C, H, O, N) bonds. The incorporation of O is due to a high reactivity of the primarily formed products towards air moisture. The resulting solid materials possess nanometer‐sized texture and high specific area, contain Si‐centered radicals and anneal under argon to silicon oxycarbonitride, whose structure is described as a network of O‐ and N‐interconnected Si and C atoms. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.