The influence of oxygen on SiO2 sputtering

Abstract
Argon‐ion sputtering of thin silicon dioxide films has been studied both in ultrahigh vacuum and in a low pressure oxygen ambient. The variation in ion‐induced secondary electron yield with decreasing oxide thickness was used to determine the sputtering yield. The method was found to be a simple and accurate way of i n s i t u measurement of thin‐film sputtering. A 30% decrease in sputtering yield was observed for 200‐keV Ar ion bombardment when the oxygen pressure was increased from 1×10−8 to 1×10−6 mbar. Secondary electron yield variations were found to give information also on the surface modification process. A mechanism is proposed in which oxygen is incorporated into the oxide due to the ion bombardment. Comparison with ion beam induced oxidation is also made.

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