THE EFFECT OF RAPID THERMAL ANNEALING IN VACUUM ON THE PROPERTIES OF THIN SIO2-FILMS

The influence of rapid thermal annealing in vacuum on the properties of thermally grown SiO2 has been investigated by means of high-field Fowler-Nordheim tunnelling injection and breakdown field techniques. The results indicate that the rapid thermal annealing process anneals the original electron traps in the oxide but at the same time introduces a positive charge. These two mechanisms are a strong function of the technological history of the samples and of the oxide quality. Rapid thermal annealing in vacuum improves the properties of the as-grown oxides without conventional post-oxidation annealing in N-2 but degrades the oxides that are preliminarily annealed in N-2. The extent of the improvement (degradation) depends on the temperature of rapid annealing (1073-1473 K).