Deposition of sacrificial silicon oxide layers by electron cyclotron resonance plasma

Abstract

Articles you may be interested inOptimization of in situ plasma oxidation of metallic gadolinium thin films deposited by high pressure sputtering on silicon J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 31, 01A112 (2013); 10.1116/1.4769893 Role of chamber dimension in fluorocarbon based deposition and etching of Si O 2 and its effects on gas and surface-phase chemistry J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 26, 545 (2008); 10.1116/1.2909963Effect of N 2 O plasma treatment on the stabilization of water absorption in fluorinated silicon-oxide thin films fabricated by electron-cyclotron-resonance plasma-enhanced chemical-vapor deposition Electron cyclotron resonance plasmas with SiH 4 /O 2 / Ar mixtures were used for deposition of thin films of silicon oxide, to be employed as sacrificial layers in microelectromechanical system ͑MEMS͒ fabrication. The grown films were characterized by Fourier transform infrared and ellipsometry. Optical emission spectroscopy and Langmuir probe were used for plasma characterization. It has been shown that OH molecules generated in the plasma play an important role in formation of films suitable as sacrificial layers for MEMS fabrication. Extremely high etch rates of grown oxide films ͑up to 10 m / min͒ were obtained, allowing fabrication of high quality poly-Si suspended structures.

Silicon nitride thin films deposited by electron cyclotron resonance plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition for micromechanical system applications

“…In the case of high RF power, reduced nitrogen content in the film can be explained by enhanced removal of nitrogen atoms from the film due to stronger ion bombardment. Note that as the RF power rises, denser films (i.e., lower BHF etch rates [19]) are produced as can be seen in Table 2.…”

Silicon nanoclusters ncl-Si in a hydrogenated amorphous silicon suboxide matrix a-SiO x :H (0 < x < 2)

“…The IR spectra of a SiO 2 :H include the modes ≈ 2280 cm -1 , ≈ 1050 and 875 cm -1 , ≈ 650 cm -1 , and ≈ 450 cm -1 [20]; the spectra of a [21, 23, 50, 51, and 53]. The intensities of all three bands at 780, 850, and 875 cm -1 grow with the oxygen content in the a SiO x H matrix; however, the growth rates are different.…”

“…A portion of Si and O atoms oscillate relative to each other in phase, and the other part, in antiphase [50]. The main stretching band of the IR absorption spectrum in a SiO x :H has two shoulders, one on the LF side of the main band at the frequency ≈ 976 cm -1 and the other, on the HF side at the frequency ≈ 1100-1300 cm -1 [20,23,49,50,54]. The oscillation of the Si atom corresponds to the HF edge of the main absorption band and is antiphase to the motion of an oxygen atom.…”

“…Along with the above mentioned variations in the characteristic of the stretching oscillations of an oxy gen atom, with decreasing oxygen content the stretch ing oscillatory mode of the oxygen atom ( ≈ 800 cm -1 ) and the rocking mode ( = 465 cm -1 ) become characteristic of a SiO x :H and do not shift upon variation in the oxygen content [20,50].…”

“…The disordered films contain ing ncl Si are formed by PECVD. Depending on the desired composition of the amorphous matrix, the gas mixture (Ar + O 2 ) is used to obtain a Si:O or a SiO 2 ; the SiH 4 gas or (SiH 4 + Ar) gas mixture, to obtain a Si:H; and the gas mixture (SiH 4 + Ar + O 2 ), to obtain a Si:O:H or a SiO x :H [20][21][22][23]. For this pur pose, the RF [13,24] or dc plasma [15,25] technique is used.…”