Ion Beam Modification of Film Stress and the Effectiveness of Thin Film Encapsulants on GaAs

Abstract

ABSTRACTIon implantation has been used to modify the initial stress in thin (40 nm) SiO2 films on G a As, and to condition the SiO2-G a As interface to pro mote adhesion. The effectiveness of these implanted films as caps to suppress decomposition of GaAs during rapid thermal processing has been studied, and this provides an indicator of the mechanical stability of the films. Measurements of the initial film stress, as well as stress changes caused by implantation and annealing, have been made to help interpret the implantation results. Our results indicate that ion implantation does not have a strong effect on the performance of thin film SiO2 encapsulants on GaAs.