Ultra-low-temperature growth of high-integrity gate oxide films by low-energy ion-assisted oxidation

Abstract
The gate oxide films have been grown at a temperature as low as 450 °C by direct oxidation of silicon. Such a low‐temperature oxidation has been realized by employing a precision controlled ion bombardment in an Ar/O2 mixed plasma for the surface activation. Perfectly controlled Ar ions give the bombardment energy for the oxide film growth. Dielectric breakdown fields of 10 MV/cm are achieved. Integration in a total low‐temperature device process has been demonstrated by fabricating self‐aligned Al‐gate metal‐oxide‐silicon field effect transistor (MOSFET) formed without any heat processing over 450 °C. The precise control of the ion bombardment is quite essential for the low‐temperature process.

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