Density Variations in Scanned Probe Oxidation

Published

January 1, 2000

Author(s)

K Morimoto, F Perez-murano, John A. Dagata

Abstract

The density of oxide nanostructures produced by scanned probe microscopy (SPM) is a function of substrate doping and voltage-pulse parameters. The total oxide thickness and molar-volume ratio of SPM oxide, obtained from high-resolution cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (HR XTEM) micrographs and from atomic force microscopy (AFM) images of etched oxide features, are compared for a wide range of substrate and exposure conditions. Direct XTEM observation of dislocations produced by the SPM voltage pulse within the silicon substrate are reported for the first time and are shown to be completely annealed out by treatment at 600 ¿C. The dimensional response of SPM oxides to annealing and/or mechanical stress imposed by metal deposition are found to be negligible for n-type substrates, but SPM oxide films on p-type substrates is strongly compressed or expanded. This behavior is attributed to the formation of positively charged defects and ionic/electronic recombination near the growing Si/SiOx interface. Implications of these results for use of SPM oxide in silicon nanodevice processing are discussed.

Citation

Applied Surface Science

Volume

158(3-4)

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

field-enhanced oxidation, scanned probe microscopy, silicon nanofabrication, transmission electron microscopy.

Citation

Morimoto, K. , Perez-murano, F. and Dagata, J. (2000), Density Variations in Scanned Probe Oxidation, Applied Surface Science (Accessed January 28, 2026)