Physical and Electrical Characterization of Thin Anodic Oxides on Si(100)

Abstract

Gate oxides 4 to 50 nm thick have been grown on Si(100) by anodic oxidation at room temperature. Different concentrations of aqueous Formula were used as the electrolyte. Growth of oxides on n‐type substrates required light illumination; however, the uniformity of the oxide thickness was not critically dependent on the uniformity of the illumination as long as light saturation conditions were maintained. The oxides on n‐type Si were slightly thicker than those on p‐type Si under the same growth conditions; nevertheless the physical properties of the oxides grown on the two types of substrates were similar. The growth mechanism was determined by secondary ion mass spectrometry with 18O labeling, and depends on the solution pH. The as‐grown and annealed oxides were characterized by Fourier transform infrared and by Formula etch rate experiments. After appropriate annealing, simple metal‐oxide‐semiconductor capacitors exhibited promising electrical properties.