Formation of Silicon on Insulator Structures By Implanted Nitrogen

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe formation of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structure by implanting a high dose of N+ ions to form a buried Si3N4 layer is studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and by secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS). The SOI structure is formed by implanting silicon wafers with 7.5x1017 N+ ions/cm2 at 160 keV and at wafer temperatures of 400, 500, or 600°C. The implanted wafers are subsequently annealed at 1200°C for times ranging from 10 minutes to 2 hours. The microstructures and nitrogen distributions of the asimplanted and post-annealed wafers are examined in order to elucidate the development of the final microstructure.