Plasma-assisted oxidation, anodization, and nitridation of silicon

Plasma-assisted oxidation, anodization, and nitridation of silicon have been performed in microwave, rf, and dc plasmas with a variety of reactor configurations and a range of plasma densities. Compared to thermal processes at equivalent substrate temperatures, film growth rates are accelerated by the plasma-enhanced generation of reactive chemical species or by the presence of electric fields to aid chargedparticle transport during plasma processes. Oxidation, anodization, and nitridation kinetics, mechanisms, and film properties attainable with plasma enhancement are discussed for crystalline, polycrystalline, and amorphous silicon layers and for silicon-germanium alloys. The use of these plasma methods for surface and interface modification of silicon-based materials and devices is described.