Fast room-temperature growth of SiO2 films by molecular-layer dosing

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Abstract
A molecular‐layer dosing technique for room‐temperature growth of α‐SiO2 thin films has been developed. The process, based on the reaction of H2O and SiCl4 adsorbates, is catalyzed by the hydrated SiO2 growth surface and requires a specific surface phase of hydrogen‐bonded water. Careful adjustment of the coverage of this last phase is used to moderate continuous or pulsed growth. Thicknesses can be controlled to molecular‐layer precision; alternatively, fast conformal growth to rates exceeding 100 nm/min can be achieved by slight depression of the substrate temperature below room temperature. Potential applications are trench filling for integrated circuits and hermetic ultrathin layers, for multilayer photoresists. Excimer‐laser‐induced surface modification has been used to achieve projection‐patterned selective‐area growth on silicon. This last result relies on the conversion from hydrogen to hydroxyl termination of the initial growth surface.