Silicon dioxide films have been fabricated at growth temperatures ranging from 25 to 330 °C from an electron cyclotron resonant microwave plasma. Films were deposited from a SiH4/Ar/N2O reactant gas mixture. The minimum temperature required to fabricate high-electrical-quality silicon dioxide films is between 255 and 290 °C. In metal-oxide-semiconductor devices, electron injection field strengths and breakdown field strengths were as high as 5 and 8 MV/cm, respectively, for oxides grown above this temperature range. Films grown at temperatures slightly below the 255–290 °C range have much poorer electrical integrity. A concomitant increase in the refractive index was observed with the improvement in the electrical integrity of these films. The refractive index increased with increasing growth temperature and was in the range of 1.44–1.47. In the 255–290 °C temperature range, the refractive index of the silicon dioxide films reached approximately 1.46–1.47, and saturates thereafter. Infrared spectroscopy indicated a hydrogen content in these films of approximately 4 at. %. The hydrogen was bonded as SiOH, while no SiH impurity groups were detected. The dependence of the deposition rate on the substrate temperature was dependent on the location of the substrate. For films grown on substrates in contact with the plasma, the deposition rate was found to decrease with increasing substrate temperature. In contrast, for films grown on substrates located in the plasma afterglow, the deposition rate increased with increasing substrate temperature.

Silicon dioxide films were deposited on crystalline silicon substrates by electron cyclotron resonant (ECR) microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Films were grown on Si〈100〉 substrates at temperatures of 140–600 °C, flow rates of 0.5–10 sccm SiH4, 10–30 sccm O2, and at a pressure of 10−3 Torr. Infrared absorption spectroscopy of the samples indicated no detectable SiH, OH, or SiOH groups. Neither an afterglow chemistry nor He dilution was required to eliminate H impurities as was previously reported for silicon oxide films deposited from rf plasmas. This suggests that significant differences exist between rf and ECR microwave plasma chemistries. We have found that the stoichiometry and index of refraction was not sensitive to oxidant ratio for a wide range of conditions in contrast to other studies. Stoichiometric SiO2 films, with good physical properties, were grown for a much wider range of oxidant ratios relative to those which are characteristic of the rf PECVD technique. In addition, films grown under optimal conditions had infrared absorption spectra nearly identical to those of thermally grown oxides and index of refraction of 1.456, as measured by ellipsometry. We concluded that by using an ECR microwave plasma, SiO2 films with optical and bonding properties comparable to oxides thermally grown at 1000 °C in dry oxygen can be deposited at a low temperature (350 °C) and a low pressure (10−3 Torr) in a O2/SiH4 reactant gas mixture without the need for a carrier gas.

Spectroscopic ellipsometry and x-ray diffraction measurements have been used to obtain structural information on hydrogenated amorphous and microcrystalline silicon thin films. The films were deposited onto quartz substrates from a microwave plasma in SiH4/H2 gas mixture. For ellipsometric data analysis, the films were modeled as multilayer structures with the dielectric response of each layer calculated as a function of the amorphous, crystallite, and void volume fractions through an effective-medium approximation. Results indicate that the transition from amorphous-to-microcrystalline films is accompanied by a reduction in the material density and a significant increase in the surface roughness overlayer. X-ray diffraction measurements estimate a higher volume fraction of crystallites as compared to that obtained from optical data.

Chemically assisted ion beam etching (CAIBE) has been used to etch InGaAsP/InP ridge laser facets. Smooth, vertical facets 4 μm deep have been etched using Ar/Cl2 CAIBE with a beam voltage of 440 V and a beam current density of 0.08 mA/cm2. Room temperature and high temperature (85 °C) L-I characteristics and device performance have been evaluated, as well as the performance of integrated back facet monitors. Output powers of 9.5 mW from the laser and a monitor current of 3.75 mA have been obtained.

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