Low-temperature chemical vapor deposition of SiO2 at 2–10 Torr

Abstract
We discuss a new low‐pressure and low‐temperature process for the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of silicon dioxide. The process differs from conventional low‐pressure CVD in that lower temperatures (150–300 °C) and a unique pressure window (2–10 Torr) provide the conditions for the reaction of silane (SiH4) and oxygen. In this thermal process, activation energies of 0.15–0.18 eV and deposition rates of 100 Å/min at 250 °C are achieved. This technique is approximately 15 times less sensitive to the O2:SiH4 ratio than atmospheric pressure CVD. The deposition conditions are compatible with both low‐temperature silicon and III‐V technologies. Preliminary current‐voltage and capacitance‐voltage measurements on Si indicate dielectric field strength of 3–8×106 V/cm and fixed oxide charge density (Qss) less than 1011 cm2.

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