Si–SiO2 interface formation in low-dose low-energy separation by implanted oxygen materials

Abstract The evolution of the Si–SiO 2 interface morphology of low-dose low-energy separation by implanted oxygen materials was investigated by transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The Si–SiO 2 interface morphology and the RMS roughness are strongly affected by the implantation conditions and the annealing process. Three main types of the domains including round, square, and pyramid shapes with the step-terrace structure were observed on the buried SiO 2 surface. Round domains are observed in the early stage of the annealing process, while the square and pyramid domains are observed after the high temperature annealing. The mean RMS roughness decreases with increasing time and annealing temperature, while in the 1350 °C 4-h annealed samples, the mean RMS roughness decreases with either increasing the implantation dose or decreasing implantation energy. The scaling analysis shows that the Si–SiO 2 interfaces were found to be self-affine on the short length scales with a roughness exponent above 0.50. Qualitative mechanisms of Si–SiO 2 surface flattening are presented in terms of the variations of morphological features with the processing conditions.