STRUCTURAL-PROPERTIES OF LOW-TEMPERATURE SILICON-OXIDE FILMS PREPAREDBY REMOTE PLASMA-ENHANCED CHEMICAL-VAPOR-DEPOSITION

High structural quality silicon dioxide films have been prepared by th e remote plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique using sil icon tetrachloride and oxygen as source materials, at substrate temper atures lower than 200-degrees-C. In addition to the source gases, hydr ogen was fed into the deposition chamber. The role of the H-2 gas is t o react with the chlorine from the SiCl4 decomposition forming HCl vap or which is removed from the deposition chamber. The role variations i n the substrate temperature, plasma power and oxygen, hydrogen, silico n tetrachloride, and argon flow rates have on the oxide quality are an alyzed. The samples were characterized by IR spectroscopy, ellipsometr y, chemical etch rate, and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) measureme nts. Silicon dioxide films of suitable quality have been prepared at s ubstrate temperatures as low as 50-degrees-C. Samples prepared at this temperature with low deposition rates show good structural characteri stics, such as refractive index, chemical etch rate, and composition n ear to that of the stoichiometric oxide.