Influence of vacuum rapid thermal annealing on the properties of mu PCVD SiO2 and SiO2 center dot P2O5 films

The effect of the rapid thermal annealing (RTA) on the properties of SiO2 a nd SiO2. P2O5 (phosphor silicate glass) is presented. The films have been p repared by micro pressure chemical vapor deposition (mu PCVD) technique. Th e precursors used for the deposition of the films were SiH4, O-2 and PH3. T he substrate temperature during the deposition was 430 degrees C. The RTA w as carried out in vacuum at 800-1400 degrees C for different times of 15-18 0 s. The samples were characterized by infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and by measurement of the etching rate of the layers. Both analyses show that the RTA leads to densification of the layers. The etching rate increases with t he increase of the temperature and the duration of annealing. The etching r ate of the phosphor silicate glass remains about 5% greater than the etchin g rate of the silicon dioxide. The FTIR spectra show that the RTA shifts th e SiO2 peak closely to the peak of the melted silica, which is at 1100 cm(- 1). (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.