Oxidation Process in IC Fabrication

Oxidation Process in IC Fabrication
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To know the basics click on the following links
TAKE A LOOK : IC FABRICATION TECHNIQUES
TAKE A LOOK : SILICON SUBSTRATE PREPARATION
TAKE A LOOK : CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION (CVD)
Utility of Thermal Oxidation
The function of a layer of silicon dioxide (SiO2) on a chip is
multipurpose. SiO2 plays an important role in IC technology
because no other semiconductor material has a native oxide which
is able to achieve all the properties of SiO2. The role of SiO2 in IC
fabrication is as below :
It acts as a diffusion mask permitting selective diffusions into silicon
wafer through the window etched into oxide.
It is used for surface passivation which is nothing but creating
protective SiO2 layer on the wafer surface. It protects the junction
from moisture and other atmospheric contaminants.
It serves as an insulator on the water surface. Its high relative
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dielectric constant, which enables metal line to pass over the

active silicon regions.
SiO2 acts as the active gate electrode in MOS device structure.
It is used to isolate one device from another.
It provides electrical isolation of multilevel metallization used in
VLSI.
It is fortunate that silicon has an easily formed protective oxide, for
otherwise we should have to depend upon deposited insulators for
surface protection. Since SiO2 produces a stable layer, this has held
back germanium IC technology.
Growth and Properties of Oxide Layers on Silicon
Silicon dioxide (silica) layer is formed on the surface of a silicon
wafer by thermal oxidation at high temperatures in a stream of
oxygen.
Si+02 = SiO2 (solid)
The oxidation furnace used for this reaction is similar to the diffusion
furnace. The thickness of the oxide layer depends on the
temperature of the furnace, the length of time that the wafers are in
it, and the flow rate of oxygen. The rate of oxidation can be
significantly increased by adding water vapour to the oxygen supply
to the oxidizing furnace.
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Si + 2H2O = SiO2 + 2H2

The time and temperature required to produce a particular layer
thickness arc obtained from empirically determined design curves,
of the type shown in the figures given below corresponding to dryoxygen atmosphere and also corresponding to steam atmosphere.
Growth and Properties of Oxide Layers on Silicon
In the past, steam was obtained by boiling ultra-high-purity water

and passing it into the high-temperature furnace containing the
silicon wafers; however, present day technologies generally use
hydrogen and oxygen which are ignited in the furnace tube to form
the ultra high-purify water vapour.
The process of silicon oxidation takes place many times during the
fabrication of an IC. Once silicon has been oxidized the further
growth of oxide is controlled by the thickness of the initial or existing
oxide layer.
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Growth Rate of Silicon Oxide Layer

The initial growth of the oxide is limited by the rate at which the
chemical reaction takes place. After the first 100 to 300 A of oxide
has been produced, the growth rate of the oxide layer will be limited
principally by the rate of diffusion of the oxidant (02 or H20) through
the oxide layer, as shown in the figures given below.
The rate of diffusion of O2 or H2O through the oxide layer will be
inversely proportional to the thickness of the layer, so that we will
have that
dx/dt = C/x
where x is the oxide thickness and C is a constant of proportionality.
Rearranging this equation gives
xdx = Cdt
Integrating this equation both sides yields, x2/2 = Ct
Solving for the oxide thickness x gives, x = 2Ct
We see that after an initial reaction-rate limited linear growth phase
the oxide growth will become diffusion-rate limited with the oxide
thickness increasing as the square root of the growth time. This is
also shown in the figure below.
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The rate of oxide growth using H2O as the oxidant will be about four
times faster than the rate obtained with O2. This is due to the fact
that the H2O molecule is about one-half the size of the O2 molecule,
so that the rate of diffusion of H2O through the SiO2 layer will be
much greater than the O2 diffusion rate.
Oxide Charges
The interlace between silicon and silicon dioxide contains a
transition region. Various charges are associated with the oxidised
silicon, some of which are related to the transition region. A charge
at the interface can induce a charge of the opposite polarity in the
underlying silicon, thereby affecting the ideal characteristics of the
MOS device. This results in both yield and reliability problems. The
figure below shows general types of charges.
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Oxide Charges
Interface-trapped charges
These charges at Si-SiO2 are thought to result from several sources
including structural defects related to the oxidation process, metallic
impurities, or bond breaking processes. The density of these
charges is usually expressed in terms of unit area and energy in the
silicon band gap.
Fixed oxide charge
This charge (usually positive) is located in the oxide within
approximately 30 A of the Si SiO2 interface. Fixed oxide charge
cannot be charged or discharged. From a processing point of view,
fixed oxide charge is determined by both temperature and ambient
conditions.
Mobile ionic charge
This is attributed to alkali ions such as sodium, potassium, and
lithium in the oxides as well as to negative ions and heavy metals.
The alkali ions are mobile even at room temperature when electric
fields are present.
Oxide trapped charge
This charge may be positive or negative, due to holes or electrons
trapped in the bulk of the oxide. This charge, associated with defects
in the Si02, may result from ionizing radiation, avalanche injection.
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Effect of Impurities on the Oxidation Rate

The following impurities affect the oxidation rate
1. Water
2. Sodium
3. Group III and V elements
4. Halogen
In addition damage to the silicon also affects oxidation rate. As wet
oxidation occurs at a substantially greater rate than dry oxygen, any
unintentional moisture accelerates the dry oxidation. High
concentrations of sodium influence the oxidation rate by changing
the bond structure in the oxide, thereby enhancing the diffusion and
concentration of the oxygen molecules in the oxide.
During thermal oxidation process, an interface is formed, which
separates the silicon from silicon dioxide. As oxidation proceeds, this
interface advances into the silicon. A doping impurity, which is
initially present in the silicon, will redistribute at the interface until its
chemical potential is the same on each side of the interface. This
redistribution may result in an abrupt change in impurity
concentration across the interface. The ratio of the equilibrium
concentration of the impurity, that is, dopant in silicon to that in SiO2
at the interface is called the equilibrium segregation coefficient. The
redistribution of the dopants at the interface influences the oxidation
behaviour. If the dopant segregates into the oxide and remains there
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(such as Boron, in an oxidizing ambient), the bond structure in the

silica weakens. This weakened structure permits an increased
incorporation and diffusivity of the oxidizing species through the
oxide thus enhancing the oxidation rate. Impurities that segregate
into the oxide but then diffuse rapidly through it (such as aluminium,
gallium, and indium) have no effect on the oxidation kinetics.
Phosphorus impurity shows opposite effect to that of boron, that is,
impurity segregation occurs in silicon rather than Si02. The same is
true for As and Sb dopants.
Halogen (such as chlorine) impurities are intentionally introduced
into the oxidation ambient to improve both the oxide and the
underlying silicon properties. Oxide improvement occurs because
there is a reduction in sodium ion contamination, increase in oxide
breakdown strength, and a reduction in interface trap density. Traps
arc energy levels in the forbidden energy gap which are associated
with defects in the silicon.
Growth and Properties of Thin Oxides
MOS VLSI technology requires silicon dioxide thickness in the 50 to
500 A range in a repeatable manner. This section is devoted to the
growth and properties of such thin oxide. This oxide must exhibit
good electrical properties and provide long-term reliability. As an
example, the dielectric material for MOS devices can be thin thermal
oxide. This dielectric is an active component of the storage capacitor
in dynamic RAMs, and its thickness determines the amount of
charge that can be stored.
The growth of thin oxide must be slow enough to obtain uniformity
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and reproducibility. Various growth techniques for thin oxide are dry
oxidation, dry oxidation with HCl, sequential oxidations using
different temperatures and ambients, wet oxidation, reduced
pressure techniques, and high pressure/low temperature oxidation.
High pressure oxidation is discussed later. The oxidation rate will, of
course, be lower at lower temperatures and at reduced pressures.
Ultra-thin oxide (<50 A) have been produced using hot nitric acid,
boiling water, and air at room temperatures. Some recent
developments in thin oxide growth technique are
(i) Rapid thermal oxidation performed in a controlled oxygen
ambient with heating provided by tungsten-halogen lamps and
(ii) Ultraviolet pulsed laser excitation in an oxygen environment.
The properties of thin oxide depend upon the growth technique
employed. For example, oxide density increases as the oxidation
temperature is reduced. Additionally, HCl ambients have typically
been used to passivate ionic sodium, improve the breakdown
voltage, and getter impurities and defects in the silicon. This
passivation effect begins to occur only in the higher temperature
range.
For thin oxides, there is an increase in leakage for a given voltage. In
thin oxides the dielectric breakdown may be field-dependent
(breakdown in a ramping field) or time-dependent (breakdown at a
constant field). This breakdown is a failure mode for MOS ICs.
Thinner oxides are more prone to failure.
High Pressure Oxidation
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There is a benefit of increase in the oxidation rate if the thermal

oxidation is carried out at pressures that are much above
atmospheric pressure. The rate of diffusion of the oxidant molecules
through an oxide layer is proportional to the ambient pressure. For
example, at a pressure of 10 atm the diffusion rate will be increased
by a factor of 10 and the corresponding oxidation time can be
reduced by nearly the same factor. Alternatively, the oxidation can be
done for the same length of time, but the temperature required will
be substantially lower.
Thus, one principal benefit of high-pressure oxidation processing is
lower-temperature processing. The lower processing temperature
reduces the formation of crystalline defects and produces less effect
on previous diffusions and other processes. The shorter oxidation
time is also advantageous in increasing the system throughput. The
major limitation of this process is the high initial cost of the system.
Oxide Masking
The oxide layer is used to mask an underlying silicon surface
against a diffusion (or ion implantation) process. The oxide layer is
patterned by the phtolithographic process to produce regions where
there are opening or windows where the oxide has been removal
to expose the underlying silicon. Then these exposed silicon regions
are subjected to the diffusion (or implantation) of dopants, whereas
the unexposed silicon regions will be protected. The pattern of
dopant that will be deposited into the silicon will thus be a replication
of the pattern of opening in the oxide layer. The replication is a key
factor in the production of tiny electronic components.
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The thickness of oxide needed for diffusion masking is a function of

the type of diffusant and the diffusion time and temperature
conditions. In particular, an oxide thickness of some 5000 A will he
vufftcieni to mask against almost all diffusions. This oxide thickness
will also be sufficient to block almost alt but the highest-energy ion
implantation.
Oxide Passivation
The other function of Si02 in IC fabrication is the surface
passivation. This is nothing but creating protective Si02 layer on the
wafer surface. The figure below shows a cross-sectional view of a
p-n junction produced by diffusion through an oxide window. There
are lateral diffusion effects, that is, the diffusion not only proceeds in
the downward direction, but also sideways as well, since diffusion is
an isotropic process. The distance from the edge of the oxide
window to the junction in the lateral direction underneath die oxide is
indicated as yj.
Diffusion Masking
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Oxidation Process in IC Fabrication

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