Initial growth studies of silicon oxynitrides in a N₂O environment

We have investigated the initial growth of silicon oxynitride films on a clean Si(100) single crystal in a N₂O ambient under ultrahigh vacuum conditions using Auger electron spectroscopy and nuclear reaction analysis. Variations in the growth parameters, e.g., exposure, N₂O pressure and sample temperature, have been systematically investigated. Nitrogen incorporated in the oxynitride film is distributed in a region close to the film/substrate interface and most nitrogen is incorporated within a film thickness of ∼2.5 nm. These studies find an important application to the semiconductor industry with regard to possible new high quality gate oxide materials.