Deposition of SiO2 Thin Films by Reactive Excimer Laser Ablation

Abstract

Deposition of silicon oxide thin films by ArF excimer laser ablation of a Si target in N2O atmosphere has been investigated in the low substrate temperature range of 15-300°C. The deposited films are characterized by ellipsometry and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The refractive index and film thickness are measured as a function of the deposited position on the Si wafer, the N2O pressure, the laser repetition rate, and the substrate temperature. Uniform stoichiometric SiO2 films are obtained with a maximum deposition rate of ∼60 Å/min (∼0.2 Å/pulse) at a substrate temperature of 15°C, a N2O pressure of 0.1 Torr, and a repetition rate of 5 Hz.