KINETICS OF FORMATION OF SILICON DIOXIDE LAYERS DURING OXIDATION OF MONOSILANE IN THE PRESENCE OF AMMONIA

On measuring the weight of a film at a fixed point of a reactor, using quartz-crystal microbalances, it was observed that while all the cont rolled process parameters remained constant, the growth rate of the Si O2 layers during the oxidation of SiH4 decreases with increase in the thickness of the film. In the presence of ammonia this inconstant grow th was not observed. It was assumed that these features of the growth kinetics are due to the influence of the in-constancy of the surface p roperties and the porous structure of the layer formed on the rate of the branched chain process. It was shown that the introduction of ammo nia into the mixture leads to an increase of the rate of growth by one order of magnitude under otherwise equal conditions, thereby making i t possible to grow films at a lower pressure, and consequently improvi ng the quality of the layers.