Influence of Ion Energy in Plasma Deposition of a-Sio2 Films

Abstract

ABSTRACTSilicon dioxide films have been deposited using a microwave plasma of (SiH4 + O2) excited by distributed electron cyclotron resonance. The ratio of flow rates of the reactive gas was (O2: SiH4) = 7 and no intentional substrate heating was used. The effect of ion energy during deposition, in the 10 — 150 eV range, has been studied through refractive index, infrared absorption bands, chemical etch rate and electrical measurements. It is found that for an ion energy > 50 eV, many of the film characteristics are close to those of thermal SiO2.