Growth Rate and Characterization of Silicon Oxide Films Grown in  N 2 O  Atmosphere in a Rapid Thermal Processor

Abstract

A rapid thermal oxidation process of silicon in N20 ambient was investigated using a commercially available reactor with a fixed wafer position and a gas flow parallel to the wafer surface. For such a configuration, thickness uniformities in the 2% range were obtained for the first time. The oxidation rate as a function of process temperature and time was investigated. A retardation in the N20 oxidation rate as compared to the oxidation in O2 ambient is explained by the formation of a nitrided interracial layer. A comparison of experimental results with an oxidation model calculation shows that this interface can affect either the oxidant diffusivity through the oxide or the reaction rate at the silicon surface. Infrared spectra of nitrided oxide films reveal a regular arrangement in the Si-O network, similar to that of high quality thermally grown oxides. A vibrational contribution to that spectrum from a Si-ON subnetwork is displayed. The accumulated charge to breakdown on metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors as a function of the injected current density revealed different slopes for oxides either thermally grown or grown in N20. Hence, the projected lifetime for devices with N20 grown oxide under low operating fields is extended by one order of magnitude in comparison with th e thermal oxide.

Oxynitride films formed by low energy NO+ implantation into silicon

“…16,18 The shapes of absorption bands from 900 to 1000 cm Ϫ1 are attributed to the formation of Si-N-O bonds in silicon oxynitride. 17 No absorptions at 610 cm Ϫ1 due to unsaturated Si-Si bonds ͑phonon-phonon interac-tions͒ were observed, 19 44 SiO, and 28 Si at ON1 and ON2 structures, respectively. These results indicate nitrogen incorporation at the insulator-semiconductor structures, formation of the SiO x N y layers on Si substrates and insulator film thicknesses about 32 and 37 nm, for the ON1 and ON2 samples, respectively.…”

“…Absorption peaks occur at 1075 cm Ϫ1 ͑stretching mode͒, at 456 cm Ϫ1 ͑rocking mode͒, and at 810 cm Ϫ1 ͑bending mode͒ due to Si-O bonds. 17 Absorptions at 1255 cm Ϫ1 indicate the formation of high quality films. 17 Absorptions at 820 cm Ϫ1 ͑stretching mode͒ and at 462 cm Ϫ1 ͑wagging mode͒ are due to Si-N bonds.…”

“…17 Absorptions at 1255 cm Ϫ1 indicate the formation of high quality films. 17 Absorptions at 820 cm Ϫ1 ͑stretching mode͒ and at 462 cm Ϫ1 ͑wagging mode͒ are due to Si-N bonds. 16,18 The shapes of absorption bands from 900 to 1000 cm Ϫ1 are attributed to the formation of Si-N-O bonds in silicon oxynitride.…”

Structural and electrical characterizations of oxynitride films on solid phase epitaxially grown silicon carbide

“…It is well known that during N 2 O oxidation, N 2 incorporate into the Si/SiO 2 interface and forms an oxynitride layer. This shoulder may be due to the formation of O-Si-N bonds in the oxide [9]. The peak at ~830 cm -1 is associated with the bending mode of Si-O-Si units and Si-N bonds.…”

A Method for Fabricating a Superior Oxide/Nitride /Oxide Gate Stack

“…Also, the absorption of SiuO bonds at 1255 cm Ϫ1 indicates the formation of a high quality film. 9,10 To study memory effects of the ONO sandwiched structure, a bidirectional voltage sweeping between 5 and (Ϫ5) V was performed. Figure 2 shows the C-V hysteresis after forward ͑from inversion to accumulation region͒ and reverse voltage sweeping ͑from accumulation to inversion region͒.…”