Roughness at Si/SiO{sub 2} interfaces and silicon oxidation
- Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439 (United States)
- Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana 61801 (United States)
With a plan-view transmission electron microscopy technique of directly imaging buried Si/SiO{sub 2} interfaces, we studied the interface roughness resulting from the oxidation process. Our results show that thermal annealing in nitrogen at 900&hthinsp;{degree}C can dramatically remove the interface roughness for Si(100)/SiO{sub 2} interfaces [X. Chen and J. M. Gibson, Appl. Phys. Lett. {bold 70}, 1462 (1997)]. In contrast, Si(111)/SiO{sub 2} interfaces, which tend to be smoother than Si(100)/SiO{sub 2} interfaces, are not affected by annealing. A model to link interface roughness and silicon oxidation kinetics was developed. This model not only qualitatively explains the difference between Si(111) and Si(100) interfaces that we saw but also shows that oxidation dynamics is the origin of the interface roughness. Hence, it might be a new approach to understand oxidation dynamics through studying interface roughness. {copyright} {ital 1999 American Vacuum Society.}
- OSTI ID:
- 359786
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-981126--
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology, A, Journal Name: Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology, A Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 17; ISSN 0734-2101; ISSN JVTAD6
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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