Ultrathin silicon dioxide films grown by photo-oxidation of silicon using 172 nm excimer lamps

We report the low temperature growth of ultrathin SiO2 films on crystalline Si by photo-oxidation with an array of Xe-2* excimer vacuum ultraviolet (V UV) lamps operating at a wavelength of 172 nm. Ultrathin layers from 1.2 to 3.3 nm thickness were grown at time intervals from 5 to 40 min at 100-400 degreesC at an O-2 pressure of 1000 mbar. Growth rates of up to 0.2 nm min( -1) have been achieved at 400 degreesC, while the chemical bonding of the f ilms has been analysed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy an d found to be SiO2. The as-grown 3.3 nm films exhibited good dielectric pro perties, comparible to SiO2 films of identical thickness, grown by RTP at 8 00 degreesC. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.