ULTRAVIOLET-INDUCED MECHANISMS IN OXIDE FILM FORMATION

Relatively intense ultraviolet light can be generated using dielectric barrier discharges to form excimer mixtures of rare gases and rare-ga s halides. The characteristics of the emission spectra of the excimers formed, from 126 to above 308 nm are found to be useful for thin film and surface processing. The underlying operating mechanisms of these sources, whose conversion efficiencies (from input electrical to outpu t optical energy) can be as high as 15%, under optimum conditions, are described. These low cost, high power, large area excimer systems can provide an interesting and potentially very useful alternative to con ventional Hg as discharge UV lamps for industrial large-scale UV proce sses. Their application towards oxide grown on silicon, and a range of other processes, is described.