Structural and interfacial characteristics of thin (<10 nm) SiO sub 2 films grown by electron cyclotron resonance plasma oxidation on (100) Si substrates

Conference · Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:6170854

Nguyen, T D; Carl, D A; Hess, D W; Lieberman, M A; Gronsky, R

The feasibility of fabricating ultra-thin SiO{sub 2} films on the order of a few nanometer thickness has been demonstrated. SiO{sub 2} thin films of approximately 7 nm thickness have been produced by ion flux-controlled Electron Cyclotron Resonance plasma oxidation at low temperature on (100) Si substrates, in reproducible fashion. Electrical measurements of these films indicate that they have characteristics comparable to those of thermally grown oxides. The thickness of the films was determined by ellipsometry, and further confirmed by cross-sectional High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy. Comparison between the ECR and the thermal oxide films shows that the ECR films are uniform and continuous over at least a few microns in lateral direction, similar to the thermal oxide films grown at comparable thickness. In addition, HRTEM images reveal a thin (1--1.5 nm) crystalline interfacial layer between the ECR film and the (100) substrate. Thinner oxide films of approximately 5 nm thickness have also been attempted, but so far have resulted in nonuniform coverage. Reproducibility at this thickness is difficult to achieve.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; USDOD; National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE, Washington, DC (United States); Department of Defense, Washington, DC (United States); National Science Foundation, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC03-76SF00098; FG03-87ER13727
• OSTI ID: 6170854
• Report Number(s): LBL-29964; CONF-910406-38; ON: DE92004425; CNN: F49620-87-K-0001; ECS-8517363; ENG-8710988
• Resource Relation: Conference: Spring meeting of the Materials Research Society (MRS), Anaheim, CA (United States), 29 Apr - 3 May 1991
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
SILICON
OXIDATION
SILICON OXIDES
SYNTHESIS
THIN FILMS
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
PLASMA
TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
ELEMENTS
FILMS
MICROSCOPY
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
SEMIMETALS
SILICON COMPOUNDS
360201* - Ceramics
Cermets
&amp; Refractories- Preparation &amp; Fabrication
360204 - Ceramics
Cermets
&amp; Refractories- Physical Properties