Fabrication and characteristics of novel microelectronic structures fabricated by plasma-based techniques

A number of novel microelectronic structures have recently been produced using plasma-based techniques such as plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) and this paper describes the recent progress made in this area in our laboratory. Conventional silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates utilizing a buried silicon dioxide layer suffer from self-heating effects as device dimensions shrink to the deep-submicrometer regime. Novel SOI structures using dielectric materials with higher thermal conductance such as aluminum nitride and diamond-like carbon have been produced. In the area of high-k (dielectric constant) thin films, plasma nitridation conducted on materials such as zirconium dioxide improves the recrystallization and interfacial properties. In the conventional Smart-Cut™ or ion-cut technique, high-energy hydrogen implantation is performed to effect layer transfer. Low-energy (several hundred eVs) plasma hydrogenation has recently been conducted in conjunction with damage engineering to produce wafer splitting for layer transfer. This new process allows more flexible control of the depth of hydrogen accumulation and the location of layer cleavage.