Low temperature plasma nitridation of thin thermal SiO2 and a silicon surface with native oxide

Approaching Defect-free Amorphous Silicon Nitride by Plasma-assisted Atomic Beam Deposition for High Performance Gate Dielectric

“…In traditional chemical vapor deposition (CVD) processes of a -Si 3 N 4 , the hydrogen/oxygen-radicals create an inherently large concentration of defects and thus lead to dielectric charging, which in turn governs either the operation or time-dependent performance degradation in gate dielectrics 14 15 16 . Therefore, a new option of deposition method should be available through an ultra-high vacuum (UHV) physical deposition process: in an extremely pure and hydrogen-free environment that contains only the constituent elements (Si, N) for a -Si 3 N 4 deposition, and has extendibility to very large substrates with carefully source-substrate geometry design for both Si and N atoms having good uniformity of arrival rate over entire substrate area.…”

Recombination and thin film properties of silicon nitride and amorphous silicon passivated c-Si following ammonia plasma exposure

“…Two groups have shown that the exposure of SiO 2 -coated c-Si samples to NH 3 plasma results in a drastic increase in the amount of interface defects. 5,6 In addition, Jin et al exposed SiO 2 -passivated c-Si with NH 3 plasma at room temperature, leading to a significant increase in surface recombination. 7 The origin of the increase in defect density at SiO 2 /c-Si interface upon plasma exposure has been speculated to be an interface damage induced by the penetration of energetic ions such as NÀH radicals 6 and/ or H radicals.…”