Surface morphology of oxygen-implanted wafers

Abstract

The surface morphology of SIMOX wafers implanted at 180 keV with doses of 0.4–2.2 ⊠ 101816O+ cm−2 in a temperature range of 400–700 °C has been investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) replica and cross-sectional TEM (XTEM) techniques. Wafer temperature during oxygen implantation strongly affects the morphology. A number of dents are formed on the surface of wafers implanted at temperatures higher than 510 °C with a dose of 1.8 ⊠ 1018 cm−2. Increasing the wafer temperature causes the dents to grow. The dents disappear by a high-temperature anneal of 1260 °C after the implantation. It is found that oxygen implantation through a 50-nm-thick screen oxide film prevents dent formation. A model explaining the dent formation and dent growth is also proposed.