THE EFFECT OF REACTOR CONFIGURATION ON THE OXYGEN PLASMA CONVERSION OF AN ORGANOSILICON TO SIO2

There is much interest, for several electronic and photonic applications, in lowering dielectric (e. g. SiO//2) fabrication temperatures. One way to accomplish this is to convert an organometallic precursor into an inorganic dielectric; and for thin film applications it is particularly convenient to use organometallic polymers as the precursors. Because of the technological attractiveness of the plasma conversion for many low-temperature process applications we have studied this process, and we observe a marked dependence of the conversion kinetics on reactor configuration. The plasma conversion of an organosilicon film to SiO//2 is inhibited in a parallel plate reactor compared to the conversion in a barrel reactor. The energetic ions present in a planar configuration inhibit the conversion of the film by modifying the surface and/or producing a chemical passivation.