THICKNESS MEASUREMENTS AND GROWTH-KINETICS OF THIN SIO2 LAYERS

Thin oxides (^3-15 nm) have been grown on (100) Si in an ambient of 10% dry 02 in Ar at temperatures of 900°, 850°, and 800°C. Measurements of oxide thickness by ellipsometry provide higher values than those obtained from high-resolution electron microscopy* The structural results from electron microscopy are used to analyze initial oxidation kinetics. Assuming that the initial growth can be characterized by a separate limiting expression, fits to linear, parabolic, linear-parabolic, and inverse-logarithmic laws are considered. The results suggest linear behavior, with an activation energy of —1.7 eV. © 1990, The Electrochemical Society, Inc. All rights reserved.