Damage in silicon caused by magnetron ion etching and its recovery effect

Damage in silicon exposed to magnetron plasma has been investigated. The damage was characterized by Schottky barrier height measurements. The depths of the damaged layers were determined as a function of radio frequency (RF) power. It was found that the damaged layer at RF power of 2 kW (self-bias; 270 V) is about 12 nm, and that the damage depths correlate with the self-bias voltage, which is a measure of the energy of ions impinging on the Si surface during plasma exposure. Several methods for removal of the damaged layer have been examined; wet Si etching was found to be the most suitable one.<
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