Remote plasma treatment of Si surfaces: Enhanced nucleation in low-temperature chemical vapor deposition

The nucleation density on Si(100):H is increased by two orders of magnitude after exposing the surface to a remote argon plasma. We study HfB2 growth from Hf (BH4) 4 and MgO growth from Mg (DMDBA) 2 plus H² O. In the latter case, pretreatment allows the growth of MgO films with an rms roughness below 0.5 nm, whereas in absence of plasma treatment no nucleation is observed. The plasma does not damage the substrate and is compatible with microelectronics technology. We propose that H desorption is the key mechanism leading to nucleation enhancement, and that remote plasma activation is likely to be generally applicable.