Silicon nitride and oxynitride film formation using electron cyclotron resonance plasmas

摘要

Growth of dielectrics from electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasmas can provide for low-temperature surface passivation and gate-quality insulation. Properties of SiN(sub x) and SiN(sub x)O(sub y) were measured on three model substrates: Si, GaAs, and InSb. The hydrogen incorporated into as-grown SiN(sub x) was primarily bonded to nitrogen and the total H content decreased with increasing deposition temperature (100--600 C). A model for the thermal release of H from Si-H bonds and two types of N-H bonds described the energetics of the H stability. A thermally-grown SiO(sub 2) layer improved the interface between ECR-deposited SiN(sub x) and Si, yielding an interface-state density of 1.5 (times) 10(sup 11) cm(sup (minus)2) eV(sup (minus)1) (midgap). The thermal release of H from SiN(sub x) on GaAs passivated non-radiative recombination centers. The difference in adhesion of Si(sub 3)N(sub 4) on InSb and the adhesion of Si(sub 3)ON(sub 2) on InSb was described in terms of the strength of the bonding at the dielectric-InSb interface, and the room-temperature growth of a high-quality dielectric on InSb was demonstrated.