Growth of Dielectric Films by Plasma Excitation

Abstract

Recent research and development on plasma-enhanced growth of dielectric films are reviewed. The technology is classified into two kinds of main methods; one is plasma-enhaced chemical vapor deposition (plasma CVD) and the other is plasma-enhanced surface reaction. Most of plasma CVD films of SiN_x, SiO₂ and doped SiO₂ have been studied for the purpose of use for the passivation films and insulating films between interconnects in VLSI. In this paper are discussed correlations among growth conditions, atomic composition and bond structure in films, various film properties and effects on characteristics of applied devices. The technology of surface reaction is thought to be useful to the lowering of VLSI process temperature. The future trend of these methods is discussed in a view of the application to VLSI.