Effects of Applied Magnetic Fields on Silicon Oxide Films Formed by Microwave Plasma CVD

By using a microwave plasma deposition system in which distributions of applied magnetic fields can be varied, the effects of the ECR position and plasma species on deposition rate and deposited film quality of silicon oxide are studied. The following results are obtained: deposition rate increases when not only O2 but also SiH4 as a material gas are excited by ECR, and high-quality film equivalent to thermal SiO2 film can be formed when the ECR position is located close to the substrate. It is suggested that the process of forming high-quality film is related to highly excited ions transported to the substrate.