A route is presented for activation of hydrogen-terminated Si(100) prior to atomic layer deposition. It is based on our discovery from in situ infrared spectroscopy that organometallic precursors can effectively initiate oxide growth. Narrow nuclear resonance profiling and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry show that surface functionalization by pre-exposure to 108 Langmuir trimethylaluminum at 300 °C leads to enhanced nucleation and to nearly linear growth kinetics of the high-permittivity gate dielectrics aluminum oxide and hafnium oxide.

The diffusion of defects during the thermal growth of SiO2 film on Si(100) in dry O2 was investigated using sequential treatments in natural oxygen (16O2) and in heavy oxygen (18O2) in a Joule effect furnace. The O18 depth profiles were measured with a depth resolution better than 1 nm, using the nuclear reaction narrow resonance O18(p,α)15N (ER=151 keV, ΓR=100 eV). From these profiles, we confirmed that just below the surface an exchange between the oxygen atoms from the gas phase and those from the silica occurs, even for silica films thicker than 20 nm. This fact is not predicted by the Deal and Grove model. A diffusion of oxygen related defects takes place in the near surface region, with an apparent diffusion coefficient D*=4.33×10−19 cm2/s for an oxidation temperature of T=930 °C and for an oxygen pressure of P=100 mbar.

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We investigated the transport of hydrogenous species during thermal nitridation of silicon dioxide films in ammonia by means of isotopic tracing of hydrogen. The dependence of the amount of hydrogen incorporated in the oxynitride films on the nitriding temperature and time, ammonia pressure, and on the initial oxide thickness was determined using methods that allow discrimination between the incorporation of hydrogen in the oxynitride films during nitridation and the effect of hydrogen adsorption during exposure of the oxynitride films to air. The depth profiles of hydrogen and the numher of hydrogen atoms that are exchanged between the oxynitride films and the ammonia gas are also established. The results indicate that the nitridation is driven by a mechanism whereby ammonia diffuses toward the oxide/Si interface reacting with the silica network. The nitridation of the surface and of the interface creates diffusion barriers whose effect on the nitridation process, as well as on the incorporation of hydrogen in the oxynitride films, is discussed.) unless CC License in place (see abstract). ecsdl.org/site/terms_use address. Redistribution subject to ECS terms of use (see 138.251.14.35 Downloaded on 2015-03-14 to IP

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Thermal growth of silicon oxide films on Si in dry O 2 is modeled as a dynamical system, assuming that it is basically a reaction-diffusion phenomenon. Relevant findings of the last decade are incorporated, as structure and composition of the oxide/Si interface and O 2 transport and reaction at initial stages of growth. The present model departs from the well-established Deal and Grove framework ͓B. E. Deal and A. S. Grove, J. Appl. Phys. 36, 3770 ͑1965͔͒ indicating that its basic assumptions, steady-state regime, and reaction between O 2 and Si at a sharp oxide/Si interface are only attained asymptotically. Scaling properties of these model equations are explored, and experimental growth kinetics, obtained for a wide range of growth parameters including the small thickness range, are shown to be well described by the model.