Material Properties and Applications of Silicon Dioxide (SiO2)
Silicon Dioxide (SiO2) is an oxide of silicon. Depending on the purity and crystalline form, there are several types of products available including Quartz, Fused Silica and Borosilicate Glass.
SiO2 has unique chemical and mechanical properties including excellent abrasion resistance, good electrical insulation and low thermal expansion and high thermal stability.
For device fabrication, this material has been used for various purposes.
• Passivation
• Insulation layer
• Etch stop of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate
• Hard mask for dry etching
• Sacrificial layer in micromachining
• Substrate of microfluidics
SAMCO offers both Anode PECVD and Cathode PECVD process solutions for SiO2 thin film deposition.
For more detail, please visit our Featured Solutions Page.
Conformal SiO2 Passivation Film Deposition
TEOS-SiO2 was deposited over silicon substrate with self-standing metal structure using SAMCO’s unique Cathode PECVD Technology.
TEOS-SiO2 was deposited on the underside of metal structure with excellent step coverage.
Deposition Rate : 116 nm/min
Film Stress : -46.8 Mpa
TEOS-SiO2 insulation film was deposited using Cathode PECVD Technology.
The film showed conformal coating of Cu lines without delamination.
Photo courtesy of Research Center for Three-Dimensional Semiconductors
A Highly conformal SiO2 film was deposited on a via hole.
Film Thickness : 1 µm
300 nm thick SiH4-SiO2 deposition was performed using an anode-coupled PECVD system.
The film showed conformal coating of Al lines with good step coverage.
8.2 μm thick TEOS-SiO2 film was deposited using a cathode-coupled PECVD system.
The film was deposited even on the bottom of the high-aspect trench.
Aspect Ratio : 20
Trench Width : 10 μm
Trench Depth : 200 μm
Control of SiO2 Film Properties
SAMCO’s SiO2 PECVD technology shows a highly-controllable wide process window and reproducibility.
The deposition processes are suitable for R&D to satisfy various needs for device fabrication.
Film Stress
SiH4 Flow Rate v.s. Film Stress
SiH4-SiO2 using an anode PECVD system
Refractive Index
Process Pressure v.s. Refractive Index
SiH4-SiO2 using an anode PECVD system
Uniformity/Deposition Rate
SiH4 Flow Rate v.s. Uniformity/Deposition Rate
SiH4-SiO2 using an anode PECVD system
System Lineup for SiO2 PECVD
Testimonial
SAMCO’s SiO2 PECVD technologies are used at nanofabrication facilities including
