Study of the early stage of SiO2 growth by a TEOS-O-2 plasma mixture usinga three-dimensional Monte Carlo model

Three-dimensional kinetic Monte Carlo calculations have been carried out to study the film growth of SiO2 by a TEOS-O-2 plasma mixture. The kinetic su rface mechanisms take into account the nucleation phase process, the physis orption of reactive TEOS fragments, and the migration process. The main pro cess contributing to the SiO2 growth is the formation of the oxygen bridge between two surface silicon sites. The simulations show the role of the sub strate energy and the percentage of the nucleation center on the nucleation phase evolution. Good adhesion is obtained for a high surface energy of th e substrate. A high surface energy increases the mobility of the reactive s pecies on the surface substrate by the reduction of the desorption process in the early stage. On the other hand, the increase of the oxidation probab ility leads to the decrease of the mobility of physisorbed species on the f ilm surface and, consequently, to increased root-mean-square roughness of t he deposited film. (C) 2001 American Vacuum Society.