SILICON-OXIDE FILMS DEPOSITED BY EXCIMER LASER CHEMICAL VAPOR-DEPOSITION

To meet the needs of both metallurgy and microelectronics for an efficient non-destructive low temperature technique, we have examined the ArF laser-induced chemical vapour deposition (CVD) of silicon oxide films onto stainless steel and silicon substrates from SiH4 and N2O presursors using argon as buffer gas. Our systematic study of the dependences of deposition rate and film properties on process parameters revealed that the deposition of good quality silica films is possible for N2O:SiH4 flow ratios starting from as low as 3, but different growth behaviour is found when either the N2O or the SiH4 partial pressure is kept constant. A comparison between conventional plasma and laser CVD reveals that the use of lasers greatly enhances one's freedom in tailoring film properties. By tuning the partial pressures, geometry and energy of the beam, fine control of the film properties can easily be achieved in a wide range not available with any other method.