Parallel langmuir processes for silicon epitaxial growth in a SiHCl3-SiHx-H2 system

Abstract

Parallel surface reactions in a SiHCl3-SiHx-H2 system were numerically evaluated based on the heat and gas flow in the epitaxial reactor for clarifying the increase in the silicon epitaxial growth rate. H2 and SiHx are assumed to individually react with the intermediate surface species, *SiCl2, which was formed by the chemisorption of SiHCl3. The measurement was reproduced by the calculation using the rate constant obtained in this study for the surface reaction between *SiCl2 and SiHx. The decrease in the surface coverage by *SiCl2 and the increase in the silicon yield were shown to be caused by the SiHx. Thus, the surface reaction of the *SiCl2 with the SiHx was theoretically shown to be effective for increasing the growth rate to higher than the saturated value in an ordinary SiHCl3-H2 system. The rate equation for the parallel Langmuir processes in a general form was also described.