We develop a theoretical model to obtain the stress in oxide films occurring during thermal oxidation of silicon. The model results in a prediction of 4.5times;109dyn/cm2for the interfacial stress, in excellent agreement with laboratory measurements. Moreover, we establish generally that the interfacial stress is proportional to 1minus;ggr;, where ggr; is the molar volume ratio of reactant to product. For silicon oxidation, ggr;=4/9, and the resulting stress is compressive.
展开▼