Effect of varying implant energy and dose on the SIMOX microstructure

SIMOX (Separation by IMplantation of OXygen) is one of the leading SOI (silicon an insulator) technologies. SOI materials have received considerable attention for their potential use in deep submicron device technology, and low power, low voltage and high density applications. The quality of the Si overlayer and the buried oxide (BOX) needs further improvement to avoid possible deleterious effects on devices. The main defects in the Si overlayer are cavities, stacking faults and dislocation half loops in the as implanted state, and threading dislocations in the annealed state. Si islands in the BOX degrade its dielectric property and processing conditions need to be further improved to minimize these defects in the BOX, especially for low dose SIMOX. Finally, the quality of the Si surface and top Si/BOX interface are of importance for device grade SIMOX. A comprehensive study of all the above microstructural features have been done as a function of varying the implant energy and dose and the results compared in this report.