Silicon oxidation by rapid thermal processing (RTP)

Single crystal silicon wafers have been oxidised by exposure to an oxygen ambient at atmospheric pressure during RTP using an A G Associates Heatpulse 2101 Rapid Thermal Annealer. Wafers of the standard orientations used in silicon device processing <100>, <111> and <110> were studied. Oxidation was carried out in the temperature range 900 to 1250°C for times of RTP from 4 to 25U seconds producing oxides up to 60nm in thickness. Oxidation rates and their orientation and temperature dependence were derived from ellipsometric measurements of oxide thickness. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and infra-red absorption spectrophotometry were also employed in the oxide characterisation. Preliminary electrical characterisation of the oxides, investigated using MOS C-V analyses, showed that the interface state densities were comparable to those in conventional furnace grown oxides.