OXIDE-GROWTH ON SILICON (100) IN THE PLASMA PHASE OF DRY OXYGEN USINGAN ELECTRON-CYCLOTRON-RESONANCE SOURCE

Silicon dioxide films were grown using an oxygen plasma generated by a n electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) source at several low temperature s. The plasma oxidation rate was investigated by varying the growth pa rameters. The oxide thickness parabolically increases with microwave p ower but decreases with increasing pressure or flow rate. A complement ary model of the Deal-Grove oxidation theory is suggested for the plas ma oxidation, and kinetic parameters are compared with the other plasm a and thermal oxidation cases. The diffusion rate constant in O-2 plas ma oxidation at room temperature is enhanced up to the level of the di ffusion rate in thermal oxidation and the reaction rate constant is mu ch larger than the thermal oxidation case. This may imply that, due to oxygen atoms dissociated by the ECR plasma, plasma oxidation is relat ed to the atomic diffusion through oxide layer and the atomic chemical reaction at the Si-SiO2 interface. The high quality of the ultrathin oxide film was characterized with a breakdown held of 14.8 MeV/cm and an interfacial state density of 1.2x10(10) eV(-1) cm(-2). (C) 1996 Ame rican Vacuum Society.