钟勇辉-22-23-A11.docVIP

1.7| DEVICE FABRICATION TECHNIQUES: OXIDATION Objective: Describe the formation of an oxide on silicon. The integrated circuit is a direct result of the development of various processing techniques needed to fabricate the transistor and interconnect lines on the single chip. The total collection of these processes for making an IC is called technology. Introductions to basic fabrication processes are given throughout the text where appropriate. Here, we discuss one such process?thermal oxidation. A major reason for the success of silicon ICs is the fact that an excellent native oxide, silicon dioxide (SiO2), can be formed on the surface of silicon. This oxide is used as a gate insulator in the metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET). As we will see in Chapter 6, the oxide is an integral part of this electronic device. Most other semiconductors do not form native oxides that are of sufficient quality to be used in device fabrication. Silicon dioxide is an important material in the fabrication process for devices, as we will see throughout the text. In addition, the oxide is used as an insulator, known as the field oxide, between devices. Metal interconnect lines that electrically connect various electronic devices on the chip can be placed on top of the field oxide. The thermal oxidation of silicon in an atmosphere of oxygen proceeds according to the reaction Si(solid) + O2(gas) → Si02(solid) This process is called a dry oxidation since oxygen is present without any water vapor. After an oxide layer forms on the surface of the silicon, oxygen molecules must diffuse through the existing oxide to reach the silicon surface where the reaction occurs. This process is shown in Figure l.25. The probability of Si diffusing through the Figure 1.25 Schematic of the oxidation process indicating the diffusion of oxygen through the existing silicon dioxide. 1 . 6 . 2 Epitaxial Growth A c