Growth kinetics of chemically vapor deposited SiO2 films from silane oxidation

Abstract

The growth kinetics of SiO2 thin films obtained by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (CVD) from SiH4/O2/N2 gas mixtures has been determined at different temperatures and flow rates. The results show that the film growth is originated by some intermediate species (e.g., SiOxHy) produced in the gas phase. At low temperatures the deposition rate is limited by some homogeneous reaction with an apparent activation energy of 1.42 eV. Furthermore, the observation of critical limits when total pressure, oxygen/silane flow ratio, and temperature are decreased gives support to a branching-chain mechanism of deposition. Finally, we have observed that the deposition rate shows a hysteresis behavior when varying the temperature within the 300–400 °C range, which has been attributed to the inhibition of silane oxidation by the Si–OH surface groups of the films grown on the reactor walls.