Characterization of Defects Created in Silicon Due to Etching in Low-Pressure Plasmas Containing Fluorine and Oxygen

Abstract

AbstractDefect characterization in n-type silicon after the reactive ion etching (RIE) in low-pressure plasmas containing fluorine and oxygen is performed by using photoluminescence (PL) and deep level transient spectroscopies (DLTS). It is shown that RIE treatment results in the formation of (i) luminescence centers giving rise to the C- and G- excitonic lines and broad emission bands related to radiation-induced defect complexes and extended defects and (ii) several electron traps located at 0.16 eV, 0.26 eV, 0.43 eV and 0.58 eV below the conduction band. The addition of oxygen to the SF6 and CF4 plasma is shown to cause nonuniform stress in the near surface region. This stress is responsible for the experimentally observed splitting of the C- and G-excitonic lines, a low energy shift of the phosphorous bound exciton lines, as well as the splitting of the DLTS spectra. It is shown that the stress field is highly inhomogeneous across the wafer, and is rather related to the RIE-induced extended defects than caused by the reaction layer formed on the Si surface.