The influence of pressure, fluid flow, and chemistry on the combustion-based oxidation of silicon

Abstract

There is evidence that the low-pressure combustion of hydrogen-oxygen mixtures is effective in producing high-quality gate oxides for advanced semiconductor devices. The high growth rates and excellent oxide properties have been attributed, in part, to an abundance of atomic oxygen and its reaction with the silicon. Using three different models, we explored flame-surface interactions from the viewpoint of understanding the radical-species fluxes at the surface. Well stirred reactor and boundary-layer models were used to analyze published growth data and explain the role of oxygen atoms. In addition, we explored the use of low-pressure stagnation flames as an attractive alternative for the efficient delivery of radical species to a film surface.