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In Situ Spectroscopic Ellipsometry Study of the Oxide Etching and Surface Damaging Processes on Silicon Under Hydrogen Plasma

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

I.M. Vargas ,
J.Y. Manso ,
J.R. Guzmán ,
B.R. Weiner  and
G. Morell
I.M. Vargas
Affiliation:
DOE-HiCREST scholar, University of Puerto Rico, Dept. of Physics, PO Box 23343, San Juan, PR 00931 (USA)
J.Y. Manso
Affiliation:
University of Puerto Rico, Dept. of Chemistry, PO Box 23334, San Juan, PR 00931 (USA)
J.R. Guzmán
Affiliation:
University of Puerto Rico, Dept. of Chemistry, PO Box 23334, San Juan, PR 00931 (USA)
B.R. Weiner
Affiliation:
University of Puerto Rico, Dept. of Chemistry, PO Box 23334, San Juan, PR 00931 (USA)
G. Morell
Affiliation:
University of Puerto Rico, Dept. of Physical Sciences, PO Box 23323, San Juan, PR 00931 (USA), gmoreU@rrpac.upr.clu.edu
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Abstract

We employed in situ ellipsometry in the monitoring of surface damage to monocrystalline silicon (Si) substrates under hydrogen plasma conditions. These measurements were complemented with spectroscopic ellipsometry and Raman spectroscopy, in order to characterize the surface conditions. It was found that heating the Si substrate to 700°C in the presence of molecular hydrogen produces etching of the native oxide layer, which is typically 10 Å thick. When the already hot and bare silicon surface is submitted to hydrogen plasma, it deteriorates very fast, becoming rough and full of voids. Modeling of the spectroscopic ellipsometry data was used to obtain a quantitative physical picture of the surface damage, in terms of roughness layer t ickness and void fraction. The results indicate that by the time a thin film starts to grow on these silicon surfaces, like in the chemical vapor deposition of diamond, the roughness produced by the hydrogen plasma has already determined to a large extent the rough nature of the film to be grown.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 591 , 1999 , 295
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2000

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References

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