Title :
RIE nitrogen plasma-induced structural changes in thin SiO2 layers
Author :
Atanassova, E. ; Paskaleva, A.
Author_Institution :
Inst. of Solid State Phys., Bulgarian Acad. of Sci., Sofia, Bulgaria
Abstract :
Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) damage effects on thin (13 nm) thermal SiO2 on Si have been studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It is found that 5 min exposure of the oxide to N2 plasma operating in RIE-mode causes structural modifications which manifest only as a deterioration of the oxide quality but without actual nitridation of the oxide. The presence of a small (<10%) constant amount of SiO species through the oxide and a broadening of Si-SiO2 interface transition region are detected as consequences from the RIE process
Keywords :
X-ray photoelectron spectra; insulating thin films; silicon compounds; sputter etching; N2; RIE nitrogen plasma; Si-SiO2; Si-SiO2 interface; SiO2; X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy; oxide quality; reactive ion etching; structural damage; thermal SiO2 layer; Anisotropic magnetoresistance; Dry etching; Nitrogen; Nuclear and plasma sciences; Plasma applications; Plasma chemistry; Plasma density; Plasma temperature; Spectroscopy; Sputtering;
Conference_Titel :
Microelectronics, 1997. Proceedings., 1997 21st International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Nis
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-3664-X
DOI :
10.1109/ICMEL.1997.632917
