Ultra-low-temperature formation of high-quality SiO2 via interface-driven self-organization of polysilazane induced by atmospheric pressure plasma jet irradiation

We converted perhydropolysilazane into SiO2 at a temperature below 65 °C by irradiating it with a low-temperature plasma jet composed of argon and water vapor. We evaluated the electrical properties of the SiO2 thin films obtained by using this method through capacitance–voltage and current density–electric field measurements on MOS capacitors. The results showed that the SiO2 thin films exhibited performance comparable with thermal oxides formed at 1000 °C. Based on these findings and the results of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy measurements, we identified the film formation mechanism as interface-driven self-organization, which explains why the PHPS-converted SiO2 films exhibit thermal-oxide-like quality.