Effect of helium dilution during plasma-enhanced deposition on electron trapping in silicon dioxide thin films

The effect of helium dilution during plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) of silicon dioxide thin films was studied with avalanche injection and charge trapping techniques. It is shown that, while oxides deposited with He dilution can have low bulk trap densities, they are not lower than films deposited without He dilution. We thus present a more complete specification than previously available of the range of gas-phase deposition conditions that produce device-grade silicon dioxide.