High rate–low temperature deposition of silicon dioxide films by remote plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition using silicon tetrachloride

Abstract

Silicon dioxide films have been deposited at rates as high as 1100 Å/min and substrate temperatures as low as 200 °C by a remote plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RPECVD) process using mixtures of silicon tetrachloride, oxygen, hydrogen, and argon. The films were characterized by ellipsometry, chemical etch rate, infrared transmittance, and electrical measurements. Infrared transmittance, refractive index, and etch rate measurements reveal that these oxides are free of Si–OH and Si–H bonds, and their structural quality is close to that of thermal CVD oxides. The electrical quality of the as-deposited oxides, incorporated in metal–oxide–semiconductor structures, is equivalent to that reported previously for RPECVD oxides deposited from the same mixture at significantly lower deposition rates. The application of these oxides in the fabrication of some multilayer devices such as alternating current electroluminescent devices is briefly described.