Abstract
Thermal oxidation of niobium silicide thin films on oxidized silicon substrates has been investigated. The silicide films were rf sputtered from a hot-pressed alloy target of stoichiometric composition (Si/Nb∼2) onto heated (350 °C) substrates. Oxidation was carried out in dry and wet oxygen between 550 and 850 °C. From Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy (RBS) measurements, it was determined that the oxide films exhibited the same Si/Nb ratio as the initial silicide layer. While only Nb2O5 has been cleary identified, density considerations and experimental values of oxide thickness suggest that niobium and silicon oxides coexist. The composition of the remaining silicide layer did not change significantly during oxidation. The oxide growth was found to follow a (tox)nα (time) relationship, with n∼1.1 for dry oxygen and 1.4 for wet oxygen. Activation energies of 1.9 and 1.6 eV were determined for the dry and wet oxidation processes.
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