Comparison of the Growth Kinetics of Oxides Grown in Tungsten-Halogen and Water Cooled Arc Lamp Systems

Rapid thermal oxidation of silicon has been performed in a tungsten-halogen system (AG-410) and a water-wall arc lamp system (Eaton ROA-400). Growth kinetics of the oxides are studied with particular attention to ramp-up ambient conditions, dwell time, maximum wafer temperature and difference in activation energies. These parameters are characterized using ellipsometry in order to measure system bias with respect to growth rate and breakdown. Experiments were designed to identify the differences in the initial enhanced growth conditions, and their effect on growth kinetics during the dwell cycle.