Low-Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition of Semi-insulating Polycrystalline Silicon Thin Films: I. Experimental Study and Proposal of New Kinetic Laws

Abstract

In the case of the semi-insulating polycrystalline silicon (SIPOS) low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) process, the influence of the two most important operating parameters, gas inlet composition and process temperature, on the evolutions of the deposition rate and of the film oxygen content along the reactor load and on-wafer, has been experimentally studied. This set of experimental results was then used as a database to develop a new kinetic model, using a local numerical simulation code for LPCVD reactors, named CVD2. This new kinetic model certainly summarizes numerous poorly known gas phase and surface reactions involved in SIPOS deposition. Its validation has been successfully performed by comparison with specific experimental data, both along the load and on-wafer. An efficient mathematical tool is then available to better control and optimize the performances of SIPOS low-pressure deposition processes. © 2001 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.