Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T07:31:47.778Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Low Temperature Thermal Chemical Vapor Deposition of Silicon Nitride Thin Films for Microelectronics Applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

Spyridon Skordas
Affiliation:
New York State Center for Advanced Thin Film Technology and Department of Physics, The University at Albany - SUNY, Albany, New York, 12222
George Sirinakis
Affiliation:
New York State Center for Advanced Thin Film Technology and Department of Physics, The University at Albany - SUNY, Albany, New York, 12222
Wen Yu
Affiliation:
New York State Center for Advanced Thin Film Technology and Department of Physics, The University at Albany - SUNY, Albany, New York, 12222
Di Wu
Affiliation:
New York State Center for Advanced Thin Film Technology and Department of Physics, The University at Albany - SUNY, Albany, New York, 12222
Haralabos Efstathiadis
Affiliation:
New York State Center for Advanced Thin Film Technology and Department of Physics, The University at Albany - SUNY, Albany, New York, 12222
Alain E. Kaloyeros
Affiliation:
New York State Center for Advanced Thin Film Technology and Department of Physics, The University at Albany - SUNY, Albany, New York, 12222
Get access

Abstract

Silicon nitride technology has been incorporated in ultra-large scale integration (ULSI) microchip fabrication, thin film transistors (TFT), solar cells, and many other applications in a rapidly expanding market. Nevertheless, silicon nitride technologies currently in use face considerable limitations. Low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) occurs at relatively high temperature (>700 °C) and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), although occurring at temperatures below 300 °C, produces hydrogen-rich films and could be self-limiting in terms of conformality and damage to the devices due to ion bombardment. In the present work, successful low temperature thermal chemical vapor deposition (LTCVD) of silicon nitride is reported on 8” silicon wafers. The use of a halide-based silicon precursor, tetraiodosilane (SiI4) has led to the deposition of high quality silicon nitride thin films at temperatures as low as 300 °C.

Characterization of resulting film properties has been performed to determine their dependence on deposition parameters by Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES), Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy (RBS), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Nuclear Reaction Analysis (NRA), Ellipsometry, Capacitance-Voltage (C-V), and Current-Voltage (I-V) measurements.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2000

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 Powell, M. J., Easton, B. C., and Hill, O. F., Appl. Phys. Lett. 38, 794 (1981).Google Scholar
2 Niihara, K. and Hirai, T., J. Mater. Sci., 12, 1233 (1977).Google Scholar
3 Sherman, S., Wagner, S., Mucha, J., and Gottscho, R. A., J. Electrochem. Soc. 144, 3198 (1997).Google Scholar
4 Frohman-Bentchkwsky, D. and Lenzlinger, M., J. Appl. Phys., 40, 3307 (1969).Google Scholar
5 Smith, F. W. and Yin, Z., J. Non-Cryst. Solids 137–138, 879 (1991).Google Scholar
6 Manabe, Y. and Mitsuyu, T., J. Appl. Phys., 66, 2475 (1989).Google Scholar
7 Ye, C., Ning, Z., Shen, M., Wang, H., and Gan, Z., Appl. Phys. Lett., 71, 336 (1997).Google Scholar
8 Lin, X., Endisch, D., Chen, X., and Kaloyeros, Alain, Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc., 495, 107 (1998).Google Scholar
9 CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 75th Ed., ed. Lide, D. R. Jr. Google Scholar
10 Chen, X., Peterson, G. G., Goldberg, C., Nuesca, G., Frisch, H. L., Kaloyeros, A. E., and Arkles, B., J. Mater. Res., 14, No.5, 2043 (1999).Google Scholar
11 EerNisse, E., J. Appl. Phys., 48, 3337 (1977).Google Scholar
12 Hasegawa, S., Amano, Y., Inokuma, T. and Kurata, Y., J. Appl. Phys., 72, 5676 (1992).Google Scholar
13 Habermehl, S., J. Appl. Phys., 83, 4672 (1998).Google Scholar
14 Lanford, W. and Rand, M., J. Appl. Phys., 49, 2473 (1978).Google Scholar
15 Cotler, T. and Chapple-Sokol, J., J. Electrochem. Soc. 140, 2071 (1993).Google Scholar