A Transmission Electron Microscopy Study of Process‐Induced Defects in Submicron SOI Structures

Novel submicron silicon-on-insulator structures were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The origin and interaction of defects caused by material processing in the course of fabrication of the structures were investigated and the feasibility of defect-reduction demonstrated. Fully or partially isolated islands of substrate-silicon were formed by selective lateral oxidation at the base of 250 nm wide structures. This process produces two adjacent, isolated levels of single-crystal silicon that could be later processed to fabricate three-dimensional devices and circuits. Cross-sectional TEM specimens were prepared for characterization