The use of Langmuir probe measurements to investigate the reaction mechanisms of remote plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Langmuir probe measurements of plasma density and electron temperature have been used to investigate the reaction kinetics in remote plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RPCVD) of Si on Si (100) substrates. The increased growth rate for negative substrate bias indicates that positively charged ions are involved in the deposition reaction. A comparison of growth rate and plasma density data indicates that the growth rate is proportional to the ion flux. It is concluded that the rate limiting reaction in RPCVD is H desorption from the hydrogenated Si surface by ion bombardment.