Thin Oxides and Their Uses:

As design rules shrink to the sub micron range for MOS VLSI it becomes increasingly important to grow oxides on crystalline silicon in 50 to 200°A ranges in a repeatable way. [2]

• Ultra thin oxide (<50 °A) has been produced using hot nitric acid, boiling water and air at room temperature.

• Rapid thermal oxidation performed in controlled oxygen ambient with heating provided by tungsten-halogen lamps have also been used to grow thin oxides (40-130°A).

Some factors, which affect thin oxide growth, are as follows:

• Cleaning techniques used
• Purity of gases used
• Thickness of the oxide
• Time
• Temperature