SiO₂/Si interface oxidation and defects in O₂ plasma processing

Abstract The SiO 2 /Si interface oxidation and defects are studied in a low-pressure capacitively-coupled oxygen (O 2 ) plasma. The interface oxidation is clearly observed for a thinner SiO 2 layer under a high-energy ion’s irradiation condition for a long period of processing. The oxidation thickness is changed from several angstroms to a few nanometers, depending on the processing period and ion’s energy. Associated with the oxidation, a large number of the interface defects are generated; the density is estimated to be an order of 10 12 cm −2 or more. The defects are recovered mostly by hydrogen annealing, however some of them remain as residual.