Influence of ion energy on the physical properties of plasma deposited SiO2 reset films

Silicon dioxide films have been deposited using a SiH4+O2 microwave plasma excited by distributed electron cyclotron resonance. The ratio of flow rates of the reactive gas was O2/SiH4∼7. The substrate was not heated intentionally (T<150 °C). The effect of ion energy during deposition, in the 10–150 eV range, has been studied through refractive index, infrared absorption bands, chemical etch rate, and electrical measurements. For ion energies ≳50 eV, many of the film characteristics are close to those of thermal SiO2