Silicon surface cleaning by low dose argon-ion bombardment for low-temperature (750 °C) epitaxial deposition. II. Epitaxial quality

Garverick, L. M.; Comfort, J.H.; Yew, Tri‐Rung; Reif, R.; Baiocchi, F. A.; Luftman, H. S.

doi:10.1063/1.339302

Cited by 51 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…The reactor and procedures employed here have been discussed previously (1,2). An optimized low energy, low dose argon ion sputter process is used to remove native oxide immediately prior to deposition.…”

Section: Vlpcvd Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous PECVD epitaxy research has focused on the role of a plasma in enhancing the removal of native oxide and made independent analysis of deposition enhancement difficult. In this work we examine VLPCVD and PECVD growth processes subsequent to an optimized argon plasma sputter cleaning procedure (1,2). Plasma enhancement for crystalline deposition operates as a parallel addition to an existing heterogeneous thermal deposition process.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Chemical Vapor Deposition of Epitaxial Silicon from Silane at Low Temperatures: I . Very Low Pressure Deposition

Comfort

Reif

1989

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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The deposition of epitaxial silicon films at temperatures from 600°–800°C by both very low‐pressure chemical vapor deposition (VLPCVD) and plasma‐enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) has been examined. The VLPCVD deposition process is first order in silane partial pressure, zero order in hydrogen partial pressure, and exhibits a low, 8–12 kcal/ mole, activation energy for temperatures from 700°–800°C with 1–15 mtorr silane and hydrogen. For temperatures below 700°C an activation energy of 40 kcal/mole is observed. The growth rate depends upon surface orientation, decreasing in the order (100), (111), polycrystalline, indicating surface processes are rate controlling. The low activation energy regime is associated with a process controlled by silane adsorption and decomposition on a sparsely covered silicon surface. The higher activation energy regime is thought to reflect growth under conditions of high surface coverage with silane fragments and the transition temperature is thought to be pressure dependent. Conditions for the deposition of device quality epitaxial silicon at low temperatures are defined and discussed. Plasma enhancement of the VLPCVD process is discussed in a companion paper.

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Section: Vlpcvd Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical Vapor Deposition of Epitaxial Silicon from Silane at Low Temperatures: I . Very Low Pressure Deposition

Comfort

Reif

1989

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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“…Previous PECVD epitaxy research has focused on the role of a plasma in enhancing the removal of native oxide and made independent analysis of deposition enhancement difficult. We have already discussed development of an optimized in situ sputter clean which allowed the thermal deposition (VLPCVD) of epitaxial films at 750~176 with low dislocation densities which were suitable for the fabrication of bipolar device structures (10,11,14). In this work we examine VLPCVD and PECVD growth processes subsequent to an optimized argon plasma sputter cleaning procedure.…”

Section: Pecvd For Crystalline Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical Vapor Deposition of Epitaxial Silicon from Silane at Low Temperatures: II . Plasma Enhanced Deposition

Comfort

Reif

1989

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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The deposition of epitaxial silicon films at temperatures from 600°–800°C by both very low‐pressure chemical vapor deposition (VLPCVD) and plasma‐enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) has been examined. The VLPCVD deposition process was described in detail in Part I of this series. Plasma enhancement of the deposition process led to enhanced growth rates without a change in the apparent activation energy, and the mild ion bombardment (plasma) exposure during deposition introduced no observable stacking faults or dislocations. The effects of plasma power, argon dilution, and hydrogen dilution on the efficiency of the plasma deposition enhancement with very low total pressures (1–10 mtorr) were examined. Under the conditions employed here, power coupling efficiency is relatively low and growth rate enhancement does not become significant until temperatures are below 700°C. The implications of these observations for future PECVD applications for epitaxial deposition are discussed.

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“…Hydrogen-based cleaning procedures have been explored in the past, e.g. see [36,[40][41][42]. It has been shown that hydrocarbons can be removed using an H 2 plasma [43].…”

Section: Post Etch H 2 /Ar Treatmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of thin oxide layer removal from Si substrates using an SiO₂atomic layer etching approach: the importance of the reactivity of the substrate

Metzler

Lai

et al. 2017

J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys.

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The evaluation of a plasma-based atomic layer etching (ALE) approach for native oxide surface removal from Si substrates is described. Objectives include removal of the native oxide while minimizing substrate damage, surface residues and substrate loss. Oxide thicknesses were measured using in situ ellipsometry and surface chemistry was analyzed by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The cyclic ALE approach when used for removal of native oxide SiO 2 from a Si substrate did not remove native oxide to the extent required. This is due to the high reactivity of the silicon substrate during the low-energy (<40 eV) ion bombardment phase of the cyclic ALE approach which leads to reoxidation of the silicon surface. A modified process, which used continuously biased Ar plasma with periodic CF 4 injection, achieved significant oxygen removal from the Si surface, with some residual carbon and fluorine. A subsequent H 2 /Ar plasma exposure successfully removed residual carbon and fluorine while passivating the silicon surface. The combined treatment reduced oxygen and carbon levels to about half compared to as received silicon surfaces. The downside of this process sequence is a net loss of about 40 Å of Si. A generic insight of this work is the importance of the substrate and final surface chemistry in addition to precise etch control of the target film for ALE processes. By a fluorocarbon-based ALE technique, thin SiO 2 layer removal at the Ångstrom level can be precisely performed from an inert substrate, e.g. a thick SiO 2 layer. However, from a reactive substrate, like Si, complete removal of the thin SiO 2 layer is prevented by the high reactivity of low energy Ar + ion bombarded Si. The Si surfaces are reoxidized during the ALE ion bombardment etch step, even for very clean and ultra-low O 2 process conditions.

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Silicon surface cleaning by low dose argon-ion bombardment for low-temperature (750 °C) epitaxial deposition. II. Epitaxial quality

Cited by 51 publications

References 17 publications

Chemical Vapor Deposition of Epitaxial Silicon from Silane at Low Temperatures: I . Very Low Pressure Deposition

Chemical Vapor Deposition of Epitaxial Silicon from Silane at Low Temperatures: I . Very Low Pressure Deposition

Chemical Vapor Deposition of Epitaxial Silicon from Silane at Low Temperatures: II . Plasma Enhanced Deposition

Investigation of thin oxide layer removal from Si substrates using an SiO₂atomic layer etching approach: the importance of the reactivity of the substrate

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Silicon surface cleaning by low dose argon-ion bombardment for low-temperature (750 °C) epitaxial deposition. II. Epitaxial quality

Cited by 51 publications

References 17 publications

Chemical Vapor Deposition of Epitaxial Silicon from Silane at Low Temperatures: I . Very Low Pressure Deposition

Chemical Vapor Deposition of Epitaxial Silicon from Silane at Low Temperatures: I . Very Low Pressure Deposition

Chemical Vapor Deposition of Epitaxial Silicon from Silane at Low Temperatures: II . Plasma Enhanced Deposition

Investigation of thin oxide layer removal from Si substrates using an SiO2atomic layer etching approach: the importance of the reactivity of the substrate

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Investigation of thin oxide layer removal from Si substrates using an SiO₂atomic layer etching approach: the importance of the reactivity of the substrate