Dominant Overall Chemical Reaction in a Chlorine Trifluoride–Silicon–Nitrogen System at Atmospheric Pressure

Abstract

This study evaluates the overall chemical reaction in a chlorine trifluoride–silicon–nitrogen system at atmospheric pressure, based on the observation of the dominant chemical species in the gas phase using a quadrupole mass spectra analyzer coupled with a horizontal cold-wall single-wafer epitaxial reactor. Chlorine trifluoride gas etches the silicon surface, producing two major products, silicon tetrafluoride gas and chlorine gas, at room temperature and 530 K. The production of chlorosilanes was not observed in this study. The results obtained in this study indicate that the dominant overall chemical reaction in a chlorine trifluoride–silicon–nitrogen system is 3Si + 4ClF3 →3SiF4 ↑+ 2Cl2 ↑.