Macro/microcavity method and its application in modeling chemical vapor deposition reaction systems

An experimental method named the 'macro/microcavity method' (Mh-IC) has bee n used for over 8 years for studying the relative contributions of gas-phas e and surface reactions and for determining the sticking probability of gro wth species in chemical Vapor deposition (CVD) reaction systems. The MMC me thod provides two well-defined reaction fields: the space between multiple stacked substrates and trenches etched into the substrates, which have mill imeter and submicron characteristic dimensions, respectively. To analyze th e chemical processes with the MMC method a mathematical model was developed to relate the film growth-rate profile in the macrocavity to the surface-t o-volume ratio (S/V) of the macrocavity. This gives the relative contributi ons of gas-phase and surface reactions to the film growth. Another analytic al model based on Monte Carlo simulations correlates the film profile in th e microcavity to the sticking probability of the deposition species. The co mbination of these two analysis techniques presents an overall picture of t he reaction scheme. This paper reviews the application of the MMC method in analyzing the chemical mechanisms in SiH4/O2-SiO2, SiH4-Si, Si2H6/C2H2-SiC , and TEOS-SiO2 CVD systems. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights rese rved.