Growth of Thin SiO2 bY “SPIKE” Rapid Thermal Oxidation

Abstract

ABSTRACTWafers prepared with HF and RCA cleaning were oxidized at atmospheric pressure O2 with an incandescent-lamp processor using temperature ramping at rates up to 150°C/s for heating and 80°C/s for cooling. The minimum oxidation time obtained by the “spike” method of turning off lamp power prior to reaching a desired peak temperature is effectively 2s. Film thickness for spike oxidation ranges from about 1.6 nm for peak temperature of 1000°C to about 2.2 nm for peak temperature of 1100°C. Activation energies of 2.5 eV are determined for 1.5 – 4 nm films. Films grown for varied times and temperatures to produce equal oxide thickness, as measured by ellipsometry, show nearly equivalent physical properties in measurements by corona-charge and Kelvin probe surface photovoltage techniques.