On the Kinetics of the Thermal Oxidation of Silicon: II . Some Theoretical Evaluations

Abstract

A steady‐state transport analysis, including electric field effects, leads to orientation‐dependent linear and parabolic rate constants. A free energy budget accounting indicates that neutral oxygen diffusion in the cannot alone account for the oxidation reaction. An analysis of the system relaxation associated with the interface disregistry indicates that a network of extra half‐planes forms at the interface to reduce the stored strain energy and that movement of the interface requires the influx of vacancies from the Si, egress of Si interstitials from the interface back into the bulk Si, or free volume influx from the to remove the extra half‐plane segments. This tends to become a dominant feature of the kinetics of oxidation. An analysis of the proportioning of the total driving force into its component contributions and their relative magnitudes is given. The coordination of a variety of diverse oxidation studies is indicated.