Characteristics of silicon oxide thin films prepared by sol electrophoretic deposition method using tetraethylorthosilicate as the precursor

Silicon dioxide films were prepared on p-type Si (100) substrates by sol electrophoretic deposition (EPD) using tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) at low temperature. According to the variation of sol dipping conditions, we estimated the characteristics of SiO2 films, such as composition, surface morphology, wet etch rate, breakdown voltage, etc. The growth rate of the film increased linearly with increasing TEOS quantity in solution. It increased exponentially with the increase in deposition time, and the film thickness was saturated at approximately 200 nm on hydrophilic Si surface after more than 6 days. The growth rate of the EPD SiO2 films on the hydrophobic Si surface was much lower than that of the film on the hydrophilic Si surface. 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.