Abstract

The insulating silicon dioxide films used in large-scale integrated silicon technology are generally prepared by the direct oxidation of silicon wafers at temperatures of ~1000°C. At this high temperature the silicon will suffer damage which is harmful to the production and reliability of the device wafers. It is, therefore, of interest to investigate low-temperature methods for the preparation of silicon dioxide films. We describe a photochemical method for the preparation of silicon dioxide on silicon at low temperatures. Silicon monoxide films were deposited by evaporation onto polished silicon wafers at room temperature. These films were irradiated in air with 193-nm radiation from an ArF excimer laser.

© 1983 Optical Society of America