In-situ investigation of spontaneous and plasma-enhanced oxidation of AlN film surfaces

Abstract

The oxidation of sputtered AlN thin films on silicon substrates is investigated in-situ by high precision, single-wavelength optical monitoring of reflectance for low pressures of oxygen and room temperature conditions. Modelling of spontaneous surface oxidation and plasma enhanced oxidation shows that at the start of oxidation, the amount of available reactants dominates the reaction rate. The Mott potential for plasma enhanced oxidation is found to be much higher than that for spontaneous oxidation, providing explanation of why the oxygen plasma can enhance oxidation of AlN. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.