Down stream oxidation of silicon using an ECR microwave plasma disk reactor

Summary Form only given, as follows. A microwave plasma disk reactor (MPDR) is being used to develop a low-temperature method for growing high-quality oxides on silicon wafers. The MPDR is used as an electrodeless, low-maintenance, high-density source of energetic oxygen ions and free radicals which are applied in the anodic growth of oxides on silicon. It is excited in a tuned, single resonant mode for efficient coupling to the plasma. A 7.6-cm-diameter silicon wafer has been oxidized using a 2.45-GHz multicusp electron cyclotron resonant MPDR. To cover the wafer area uniformly, a low-pressure, downstream approach is used. Plasma diffusion lengths are sufficiently large that uniform downstream plasmas result. Uniformity of oxide thickness across the wafer surface and oxide growth have been studied by ellipsometric and stylus techniques as a function of the downstream distance from the plasma discharge.<>