Bulk model of rapid thermal oxidation of silicon

A model of rapid thermal oxidation of silicon in dry oxygen based on the reaction of volume oxidation is constructed. It is assumed that the coefficient of oxygen diffusion for silicon dioxide decreases because of internal compressive stress, which is at a maximum near the SiO₂-Si interface; as the distance from the interface increases, this stress decreases according to the time-dependent exponential law because of viscoelastic relaxation from the value of the diffusion coefficient for strained oxide to that for fused quartz. The characteristic relaxation time of the coefficient of oxygen diffusion in silicon dioxide correlates with the relaxation time of internal stress in silicon dioxide films on silicon and with the relaxation time of the refraction index. Because the refraction index is related to the density of silicon dioxide, we arrive at the conclusion that the relaxation of the diffusion coefficient is related not only to the relaxation of internal mechanical stress, but also to the relaxation of the density of silicon dioxide.     

Field-independence of thermal emission rate in Au-doped silicon

The thermal emission rate of holes, e^t_p, has been measured from dark leakage currents for the Au acceptor level in silicon diodes at different electric fields and found to be field independent for average electric fields below 10⁵V/cm.     

Dopant dependence of the oxidation rate of ion implanted silicon

The computer code developed in recent years at Argonne National Laboratory for the investigation of the energy and structure of interfaces in ionic crystals has been extended to permit the consideration of neutral intrinsic and extrinsic point defects in such interfaces. As examples, bound Schottky pairs as well as substitutional Fe²⁺ and Ca²⁺ impurities are considered in the (100) surface and surface region. The role of isovalent impurities in the free (110) surface region and in a coincident-site twist grain boundary are also investigated. Wherever possible our results are compared and found in agreement with results obtained by means of the HADES program.     

Effects of thermal oxidation on the photoluminescence properties of porous silicon

The effects of thermal oxidation on the photoluminescence (PL) properties of powdered porous silicon (PSi) are studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It is found that the PL intensity is steeply quenched after annealing at and recovered at above . The XPS intensity of oxides formed on the PSi surface is also found to strongly depend on the annealing temperature. The comparison between the annealing temperature dependence of PL intensity and that of the oxide XPS intensity suggests that the formation of thin disordered SiO₂ layer accompanies the quenching of the PL intensity, and that the formation of thick high-quality SiO₂ layer results in the PL intensity recovery. These results indicate that the thickness and quality of SiO₂ layer play a crucial role in the PL properties of thermally oxidized PSi.     

Predicting mode-dependent phonon thermal conductivity of silicon nanoparticle using Boltzmann transport equation

With the advent of nanotechnology, silicon nanoparticles have shown promising applications in the manufacturing sector. In this letter, we examine the lattice thermal conductivity predictions for a silicon nanoparticle using three popular formulations of the Boltzmann transport equation. The models as proposed by Klemens, Callaway and Holland, essentially differ in the phonon scattering mechanisms and the vibrational modes considered in the respective formulations. At low temperatures, results from all three models show strong agreement with experimental measurements, but deviate significantly with increasing temperatures. Estimates from the Holland model, which explicitly accounts for the normal and Umklapp scattering processes of the transverse and longitudinal modes, concur with the measured values. Similar predictions are obtained from both Holland and Callaway models at high temperatures since phonon transport is dominated by longitudinal modes, as revealed from our analyses of the relaxation times. In conclusion, the letter infers the importance of mode dependent thermal conduction in silicon nanoparticle at elevated temperatures.     

Realization of silicon quantum wires by selective chemical etching and thermal oxidation

Ultra-fine silicon quantum wires with SiO₂ boundaries were successfully fabricated by combining SiGe/Si heteroepitaxy, selective chemical etching and subsequent thermal oxidation. The results are observed by scanning electron microscopy. The present method provides a very controllable way to fabricate ultra-fine silicon quantum wires, which is fully compatible with silicon microelectronic technology. As one of the key processes of controlling the lateral dimensions of silicon quantum wires, the wet oxidation of silicon wires has been investigated, self-limiting wet oxidation phenomenon in silicon wires is observed. The characteristic of the oxidation retardation of silicon wires is discussed.     

The properties of SiO2 layers produced by the thermal oxidation of silicon

The introduction contains a brief survey of the experimentally found properties of SiO₂ layers according to available sources of literature. The paper then deals with the procedure for determining the magnitude and number of imperfections in SiO₂ layers on the basis of measurements of the magnitude of the break-down voltage.     

Effect of rapid thermal oxidation on structure and photoelectronic properties of silicon oxide in monocrystalline silicon solar cells

This paper concerns the topic of surface passivation properties of rapid thermal oxidation on p-type monocrystalline silicon wafer for use in screen-printed silicon solar cells. It shows that inline thermal oxidation is a very promising alternative to the use of conventional batch type quartz tube furnaces for the surface passivation of industrial phosphorus-diffused emitters. Five minutes was the most favorable holding time for the rapid thermal oxidation growth of the solar cell sample, in which the average carrier lifetime was increased 19.4 μs. The Fourier transform infrared spectrum of the rapid thermal oxidation sample, whose structure was Al/Al-BSF/p-type Si/n-type SiP/SiO₂/SiN_x/Ag solar cell with an active area of 15.6 cm², contained an absorption peak at 1085 cm⁻¹, which was associated with the Si–O bonds in silicon oxide. The lowest average reflectance of this sample is 0.87%. Furthermore, for this sample, its average of internal quantum efficiency and conversion efficiency are respectively increased by 8% and 0.23%, compared with the sample without rapid thermal oxidation processing.     

Electron-active silicon oxidation

Visible and ultraviolet light was employed in a series of refining experiments to reveal the kinetics of photon-enhanced oxidation of silicon. The experimental evidence then gave rise to an electron-active silicon oxidation process involving electron emission from Si into SiO₂ moderating the dissociation of molecular oxygen near the interface. Photonicallystimulated oxidation enhancement then straightforwardly derives from an enhanced level of electron emission. This simple model helps to clarify normal dry thermal oxidation growth kinetics, as well as thin oxide rapid growth behavior and the charged-versus-neutral oxidant controversy. Finally, attention is called to the not generally recognized but likely role that secondary electron emission from surfaces may play in moderating the chemistry of various electron, ion and photon beam-induced surface reactions.     

New oxygen related shallow thermal donor centres in Czochralski-grown silicon

A series of previously undetected effective-mass like oxygen related donor centres is observed in Czochralski-grown silicon (Czsi) by means of Photothermal Ionization Spectroscopy. The new set of donors is shallower in energy than any of the known series of nine oxygen thermal donors reported in CzSi. The ionization energies of the new set of donors are between 34.7 and 37.4 meV. The new donor centres also appear as a result of thermally annealing the samples at 450°C.     

The thermal oxidation of silicon the special case of the growth of very thin films

The thermal oxidation of silicon is generally modelled by Deal and Grove's theory based on the assumption that the oxygen molecules dissolve in silicon in interstitial positions and migrate to the Si-SiO₂ interface where they react with the silicon substrate. Experimental results for oxidation in dry oxygen agree with this theory only for thick oxide films. The growth of very thin oxide films exhibits particular features which are discussed in this paper. For these films, the growth mechanism is different from that of thick films; this difference is possibly associated with the transport of oxygen atoms through the silica network. The effect of hydrogenated impurities is also discussed.     

Early stages of silicon oxidation

Experiments have shown that the early stages of silicon oxidation proceed layer by layer, so that one layer is essentially complete before another develops. Other experiments show that the mechanism does not involve step growth, the most obvious mechanism. We use a new approach to modelling the growth to show that these two observations can be understood when there is a rate-determining step which depends strongly on the local oxide thickness. The rate in question might be the sticking probability, or the rate of incorporation of adsorbed oxygen species into the oxide network. Such mechanisms are possible when transport by an ionic species dominates, contrary to the situation for thicker films. Our modelling suggests the mechanisms are driven by the image interaction, as in earlier suggestions by Stoneham and Tasker, rather than an effect of the electric field central to the Mott-Cabrera mechanism.     

Microscopic dynamics of silicon oxidation

We study the silicon oxidation process and the dynamic structure of the SiO2-Si (001) interface using a grand canonical Monte Carlo approach. We find that Si-O-Si bridge bonds are the main building blocks of the advancing interface, and we identify a kinetic pathway that continually creates new bridge bonds. Oxidation proceeds by local events, with little evidence of "step flow" in the simulation. Yet the interface remains remarkably smooth and abrupt as it advances.     

A high-gain porous silicon metal–semiconductor–metal photodetector through rapid thermal oxidation and rapid thermal annealing

2 tungsten lamp at 1.83 mA excited by a 0.85-mW 675-nm laser diode. We also demonstrate that the dark current could be greatly reduced through rapid thermal oxidation and rapid thermal annealing. Received: 4 August 1997/Accepted: 28 May 1998     

Klein-Gordon thermal equation for a planck gas

In this paper the quantum hyperbolic equation formulated in our earlier paper [Found. Phys. Lett. 10, 599 (1997)] is applied to the study of the propagation of the initial thermal state of the universe. It is shown that the propagation depends on the barrier height. The Planck wall potential is introduced,V _P = ħ/8t_P = 1.125 10¹⁸ GeV, wheret _P is a Planck time. For the barrier heightV <V _P , the master thermal equation isthe modified telegrapher’sequation, and for barrier heightV >V _P the master equation is theKlein- Gordon equation. The solutions of both type equations for Cauchy boundary conditions are discussed.     

Internal quantum efficiency of GaN-based light-emitting diodes grown on silicon substrates determined from rate equation analyses

We present a convenient and reliable method for determining the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) in GaN-based blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) grown on Si(111) substrates based on the carrier rate equation model. By using the peak point of the efficiency curve in photoluminescence (PL) measurements as the parameter of the rate equation analysis, the IQE can be unambiguously determined without any pre-assumed parameters. The theoretical IQE model is used to fit the measured PL efficiency curves and the IQE of LED samples are determined. The maximum IQE of the LED sample grown on the Si substrate was obtained to be 0.74, which is found to agree well with the results obtained by conventional temperature-dependent PL measurements.     

Time-evolution of thermal oxidation on high-index silicon surfaces: Real-time photoemission spectroscopic study with synchrotron radiation

The initial oxidation on high-index silicon surfaces with (113) and (120) orientations at 820 K has been investigated by real-time X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (Si 2p and O 1s) using 687 eV photons. The time evolutions of the Siⁿ⁺ (n = 1–4) components in the Si 2p spectrum indicate that the Si^2 + state is suppressed on high-index surfaces compared with Si(001). The O 1s state consists of two components, a low-binding-energy component (LBC) and a high-binding-energy component (HBC). It is suggested that the O atom in strained SiOSi contributes to the LBC component. The reaction rates are slower on high-index surfaces compared with that on Si(001).