Direct modification near the interface of SiO/sub 2//Si[001] by low energy N/sup +/ ion beam irradiation

Silicon oxynitride films have been extensively studied as a substitute material for SiOz, which was traditionally used as dielectric device materials'). However, microscopic information on the bonding environment of the incorporated N atoms in both oxide layer and interface on Si substrate were poorly understood. On the other hand, OUT research group has been studying chemical reactivity between ions or atoms and solid surfaces, for example 02/Si(001) surface reaction dynamics with a hyperthermal 02 molecular beam technique and synchrotron radiation photoemission spectroscopy (SR-PES)2'. It is interesting that the chemical reaction not only at Si(OO1) surface but also at Si(OOl)-SiO2 interface can be induced directly by using a reactive beam with larger kinetic energy. In this study, using a N+ ion beam, we investigate the oxynitride bonding configuration formed by the direct nitridation near the Si(O0 l)-SiOz interface.