Molecular dynamics simulation of silicon oxidation enhanced by energetic hydrogen ion irradiation. (22nd April 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Mizotani, Kohei; Isobe, Michiro; Fukasawa, Masanaga; Nagahata, Kazunori; Tatsumi, Tetsuya; Hamaguchi, Satoshi
• Is Part Of: Journal of physics. Volume 48:Number 15(2015)
• Page Start: 893
• Publication Date: 2015-04-22
• Subjects: Physics -- Periodicals; 530
• DOI: 10.1088/0022-3727/48/15/152002
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-3727

Abstract

<abstract> <title>Abstract</title> <p>Molecular dynamics numerical simulations have been performed to clarify the mechanism of enhanced oxidation in Si during silicon gate etching by HBr/O₂ plasmas. Such enhanced oxidation sometimes manifests itself as Si recess during gate etching processes. When a Si substrate is subject to energetic ion bombardment together with a flux of radical species, our study has identified the cause of such enhanced oxidation in Si as enhanced O diffusion arising from the momentum transfer from energetic H atoms to O atoms on the surface or in the subsurface of the Si substrate. No chemical effect such as hydrogenation of Si plays a role for the enhanced oxidation. Simulation results are found to be in good agreement with earlier experimental observations of ion-irradiation-enhanced oxidation obtained by beam experiments.</p> </abstract>