Growth Kinetics and Electrical Properties of Ultrathin Si Oxide Film Fabricated Using Krypton-Diluted Oxygen Plasma Excited by Electron Cyclotron Resonance

• Published in: Japanese Journal of Applied Physics 2003, Vol.42 (Part 1, No. 10), p.6496-6501
• Main Authors: Wang, Junli, Zhao, Liwei, LUU, Nam Hoai, Makiyama, Kazuya, Wang, Dong, Nakashima, Hiroshi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0021-4922; 1347-4065
• DOI: 10.1143/JJAP.42.6496

The growth characteristics and electrical properties of a thin Si oxide film formed by Kr and O2 mixed ECR plasma irradiation at a low temperature of 130 C have been investigated. The Kr gas is better than Ar for diluting the O2 plasma for Si oxidation according to the I-V characteristics of the Si oxide film. Surface-reaction-limited growth dominates the initial stage of oxidation while the diffusion-limited growth dominates the thicker region. A large positive bias and a small O2 gas flow rate lead to the decrease in the leakage current and the increase in the breakdown electric field of the Si oxide film, implying that the oxidation in the initial stage is essential for obtaining good electrical properties. Under the optimum condition, the as-grown Si oxide film shows a breakdown electric field of 10-12 MV/cm, and for more than 80% of the samples a leakage current density at an electric field of 5 MV/cm distributes in the range of 10-9 or 10-8 A/cm2. 27 refs.