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Isotopic Labeling Studies of Oxynitridation in Nitric Oxide (NO) of Si and SiO2

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Fundamental Aspects of Ultrathin Dielectrics on Si-based Devices

Part of the book series: NATO Science Series ((ASHT,volume 47))

Abstract

Rapid thermal oxynitridation in nitric oxide (NO) of a thick (14 nm) Si02 film grown on Si(001) is studied as a first stage towards understanding of atomic transport mechanisms occuring during NO annealing of thin SiO2 films. The SiO2 films were grown in an ultra high vacuum rapid thermal processing (RTP) furnace in static pressure of natural O2 (16O2). These films were then annealed in N and 180-enriched NO (15N18O) for 20 and 80 s. Total amounts of nitrogen and oxygen (areal densities in at.cm-2) and heavy isotopes depth distribution were measured using non resonant and resonant nuclear reactions analysis. The results are discussed in terms of atomic depth profiles and growth mechanisms. These first results are more likely explained by two mechanisms occuring in parallel. In the first one, NO diffuses through the silica network without reacting with it and both N and O are fixed in the near interface region. In the second one, 18O is fixed near the oxide surface due to a mechanism related with a step-by-step motion of network oxygen atoms, by a simple diffusion process, induced by the presence of network defects, involving O only. This latter mechanism leads mostly to an exchange of oxygen atoms between the oxide network and the gas phase.

Direct oxynitridation of Si(001) in nitric oxide (NO) is studied as a function of as pressure. The dielectric films were grown in the RTP furnace in static pressures of 15N and 18O enriched NO (15N18O). The nuclear reactions techniques mentioned above were employed to analyse the dielectric films. The thicknesses of the oxynitrides formed in NO never exceeded 3 nanometers, in our thermal treatments conditions. Moreover, the growth rates of these films are lower compared to N2O growth rates, due to the higher amount of nitrogen atoms fixed in the films. At 1050 °C, for isochronal thermal treatments, the amounts of nitrogen fixed in the films decreases as the pressure P of NO increases (in the range 1 to 100 hPa) suggesting that nitrogen atoms may be fixed via a vacancy mechanism. The amount of nitrogen atoms was found to support a P-1/4 law, whereas in N2O the nitrogen amount varies as P1/2. The areal densities of oxygen atoms are consistent with a P1/4 law, as in the case of N2O oxynitridation. Angle Resolved

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Groupe de Physique des Solides, Université Paris 7, Université Paris 6, UMR 75-88 CNRS, France

    I. Trimaille, J.-J. Ganem, L. G. Gosset & S. Rigo

  2. Tour 23, 2 place Jussieu, 75251, Paris cedex 05, France

    I. Trimaille, J.-J. Ganem, L. G. Gosset & S. Rigo

  3. Instituto de Fisica-UFRGS, 91540-000, Porto, Alegre, RS, Brazil

    I. J. R. Baumvol

  4. Instituto de Quimica-UFRGS, 91540-000, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    F. C. Stedile

  5. Laboratoire de Chimie-Physique, Université Paris 6, 11 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75231, Paris Cedex 05, France

    F. Rochet, G. Dufour & F. Jolly

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  1. I. Trimaille
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA

    Eric Garfunkel  & Evgeni Gusev  & 

  2. A.F. loffe Physico- Technical Institute of the Russian Academy of Science, St. Petersburg, Russia

    Alexander Vul’

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Trimaille, I. et al. (1998). Isotopic Labeling Studies of Oxynitridation in Nitric Oxide (NO) of Si and SiO2 . In: Garfunkel, E., Gusev, E., Vul’, A. (eds) Fundamental Aspects of Ultrathin Dielectrics on Si-based Devices. NATO Science Series, vol 47. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5008-8_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5008-8_12

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