Microwave plasma oxidation of silicon

The stringent requirements of the next generation of VLSI will force the temperature of IC processing to a lower regime. One of the most important areas is the formation of gate and field dielectrics. Dopant re-distribution, stacking fault and dislocation generation as well as bird's-beak problems can be eliminated or minimized by low temperature oxygen microwave plasma anodization. This paper describes our investigation in the low pressure, low temperature oxidation of silicon using this technique. Oxidation rate dependence on anodization current, time, orientation, plasma power and temperature are measured. Properties of the plasma oxide was characteristized by thickness uniformity, refractive index, infrared absorption and C-V measurement. Discussion on the species responsible for the oxidation, the transport mechanisms and the factors that could affect the kinetics of the growth are presented. We conclude that the technique looks promising for the future.