Low Temperature Chemical Vapor Deposition Method Utilizing an Electron Cyclotron Resonance Plasma

Abstract

The plasma deposition apparatus developed in this study can realize a deposition of dense and high quality thin films, such as Si₃N₄ and SiO₂, without the need for substrate heating. It does this by enhancing the plasma excitation efficiency at low gas pressures (10^-4 Torr) and by the acceleration effect of ions with moderate energies (10 to 20 eV), using a microwave ECR (Electron Cyclotron Resonance) excited plasma, and a plasma stream extraction onto the specimen table by a divergent magnetic field method. The Si₃N₄ and SiO₂ films deposited are comparable to those prepared by high temperature CVD and thermal oxidation, respectively, in evaluations such as by buffered HF solution etch rate measurement.