Low-Temperature Formation of Device-Quality SiO2/Si Interfaces Using Electron Cyclotron Resonance Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition

Low-temperature formation of SiO2/Si interfaces using electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) was investigated. It was found that the density of interface trap states (D it) decreased with decreasing substrate temperature during film deposition and performing the post deposition annealing at 333°C in N2 or H2O atmosphere. The average D it was 3 to 4×1011 cm-2 eV-1 when the substrate temperature was 300°C, while decreasing the substrate temperature to room temperature decreased it to 1.8×1010 cm-2 eV-1. These results indicate that device-quality-SiO2/Si-interface formation is possible using low-temperature processes of ECR PECVD and post deposition annealing.