T. Sorita et al., THE FORMATION MECHANISM AND STEP COVERAGE QUALITY OF TETRAETHYLORTHOSILICATE-SIO2 FILMS STUDIED BY THE MICRO MACROCAVITY METHOD, Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 140(10), 1993, pp. 2952-2959
The formation mechanism and step-coverage quality of SiO2 films formed
by the pyrolysis of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) were studied, usin
g a novel experimental technique called the ''multi-layered micro/macr
ocavity method.'' The growth rate profiles at millimeter (macrocavity)
and submicron (microtrench) sales deposited under a total pressure ra
nging from 2 to 760 Torr were simultaneously analyzed. The step covera
ge approaches conformal deposition either with decreasing volume-to-su
rface ratio (V/S) of the macrocavity reaction zone or with increasing
total pressure. Combining these results with the growth-rate profiles
of the macrocavity shows that two kinds of intermediate species partic
ipate in deposition. One is a high-activity species with a surface sti
cking probability near 1, and the other is a low-activity. A nonlinear
increase of the growth rate with the macrocavity V/S ratio indicates
that a polymerization reaction occurs in the gas phase. A comprehensiv
e model of the deposition kinetics is presented to correlate the step
coverage quality and the growth rate uniformity with the operating con
ditions.