Characterization of Plasma-Irradiated SiO₂/Si Interface Properties by Photoinduced-Carrier Microwave Absorption Method

Abstract

We report photoinduced carrier recombination induced by 13.56 MHz radio frequency argon plasma treatment for samples of silicon substrates coated with thermally grown SiO2 layers. The transmissivity of a 9.35 GHz microwave was measured and analyzed under illumination of 532 nm green light to the top or rear surface. Irradiation of argon plasma at 100 W for 5 min caused substantial carrier recombination. The recombination velocity of the plasma-irradiated surface was estimated to be 6000 cm/s. Investigation of 100 kHz capacitance response characteristics as a function of bias voltage for metal oxide p-type silicon structures revealed that irradiation of argon plasma increased the fixed charge density from 3.2×1011 to 3.0×1012 cm-2. Those changes were restored completely by heat treatment at 300 °C in air for 60 min.

Investigation of Silicon Surface Passivation by Microwave Annealing Using Multiple-Wavelength Light-Induced Carrier Lifetime Measurement

“…We have recently reported a marked decrease in eff by plasma treatment, which is a very conventional method for semiconductor device fabrication processing. 16) Post-annealing is necessary to increase eff again. Moreover, a short annealing in a low-temperature atmosphere is attractive in the low thermal budget for a low fabrication cost.…”

Effect of Plasma Treatment on the Sensor Properties of a Light‐Addressable Potentiometric Sensor (LAPS)

“…The radiation, especially VUVs, can inject electrons and/or electron‐hole pairs in the semiconductor and dielectric layers. They are able to move throughout the layer and become trapped, recombine, or leave the layers . The trapped charges within the dielectric layer can contribute to the decreased photocurrent signal after the plasma treatment.…”

“…Other influences of the plasma treatment should be carefully considered: an intensive plasma treatment for a long duration to obtain hydrophilic surfaces adversely influences the electrical properties and the sensing behavior of sensors . During the plasma treatment, a plasma‐induced damage occurs because of the ion bombardment, radical flux, or radiation emitted by the plasma.…”

“…During the plasma treatment, a plasma‐induced damage occurs because of the ion bombardment, radical flux, or radiation emitted by the plasma. In particular, the radiation, e.g., vacuum ultraviolet photons (VUVs), can deeply penetrate the sensor and ionizes atoms of the semiconductor lattice and dielectric layer, resulting in imparities and hence a change of the electrical behavior of the sensor . Because of all of these, characterization and optimization of plasma treatment play an important role in this field.…”

Visualization of Plasma Etching Damage of Si Using Room Temperature Photoluminescence and Raman Spectroscopy

“…16 For blanket wafers, microwave photoconductive decay (μ-PCD), quasisteady-state photoconductance (QSSPC) and microwave absorption are frequently used to investigate the behavior of photo-induced carriers as a quality factor for the SiO 2 /Si interface. [17][18][19] In this paper, room temperature photoluminescence (RTPL) spectroscopy was proposed and investigated as a practical PID visualization technique to be used in advanced Si device production facilities (with 28 nm technology node or below). High spectral resolution Raman spectroscopy was also used to validate the presence of physical (cyratalline) damage in Si after plasma etching.…”