Gas Phase Composition Considerations in the Thermal Oxidation of Silicon in Cl‐H‐O Ambients

Abstract

The improved electrical stability and accelerated growth kinetics of thermal grown in oxygen ambients containing and have been well documented, but the mechanisms of this improvement are still poorly understood. This paper presents calculations of equilibrium partial pressures of the possible gaseous species in the Cl‐H‐O system under thermal oxidation conditions. These results are correlated with published results on (i) oxidation kinetics; (ii) detrimental effects of water vapor in the growth ambient; and (iii) chlorine content in the as‐grown oxide.