Atomic layer controlled growth of SiO2 films using binary reaction sequence chemistry

SiO 2 thin films were deposited with atomic layer control using binary reaction sequence chemistry. The SiO2 growth was accomplished by separating the binary reaction SiCl4+2H2O→SiO2+4HCl into two half-reactions. Successive application of the half-reactions in an ABAB… sequence produced SiO2 deposition at temperatures between 600 and 800 K and reactant pressures of 1–10 Torr. The SiO2 growth was monitored using ellipsometry versus substrate temperature and reactant exposure time. The maximum SiO2 deposition per AB cycle was 1.1 Å/AB cycle at 600 K. The surface topography measured using atomic force microscopy was extremely flat with a roughness nearly identical to the initial substrate.