Effect of interfacial and bulk organic contamination on the quality of thin silicon oxide

Niraj B. Rana, Farnang Shadman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

The effect of organic contamination of silicon (HF-last cleaned) and silicon dioxide (as-received) wafer surfaces on the quality of gate oxide was studied. Controlled contamination by model organics as well as cleanroom contamination conditions were investigated. Wafers were oxidized under oxidizing or inert ramp-up ambient to grow ultrathin thermal oxides (30 Å). Surface and electrical characterization of the oxides was done by Auger sputter profiling, tunneling atomic force microscopy (TAFM) and gate oxide integrity (GOI) measurements. For oxides grown in an inert ambient during ramp-up, HF-last cleaned wafers had a large number of carbon-based defects as compared to as-received wafers. Oxygen in the ramp-up ambient oxidized and volatilized organics resulting in good quality thin gate oxides for HF-last cleaned wafers. However, for as-received wafers, the defect density was increased in an oxidizing ramp-up ambient. A probable mechanism for degradation of the gate oxide quality on HF-last wafers in an inert ramp-up ambient is investigated.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)76-81
Number of pages6
JournalIEEE Transactions on Semiconductor Manufacturing
Volume16
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2003

Keywords

  • Defects
  • Gate oxide
  • Interfacial contamination
  • Organic contamination
  • Silicon

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Effect of interfacial and bulk organic contamination on the quality of thin silicon oxide'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this