In-situ characterization of impurities and defects at si interfaces

Abstract

An ultraclean and integrated processing laboratory for Si technology is described whose purpose is to explore (1) the fundamental chemistry and physics of thermal processes, (2) the potential of ultraclean growth conditions for obtaining good materials properties, and (3) the integration of related process sequences in-situ. In-situ analysis and monitoring plays a key role in all three. Defect formation is analyzed by surface analytical techniques, based mostly on electron spectroscopies, and consequences for film growth are discussed. An important distinction is made between molecular contamination on the level of sub-monolayer coverages (of order 1014cm-2) and individual point defects caused by particles (of order 103cm-2). Different analytical techniques and detection schemes are required to deal with such vastly different contamination densities. © 1990 SPIE.