Electrical properties of electron cyclotron resonance plasma-deposited silicon dioxide: effect of the oxygen to silane flow ratio

Silicon dioxide layers have been deposited at from electron cyclotron resonance plasma using pure oxygen and argon-diluted silane. The sign of the oxide charge depends on the flow ratio and also on the post-deposition processing. In the post-metallization annealed layers, net negative charge densities as low as have been obtained in the best conditions. Most of the charge seems to be trapped at oxide centres and the measured mobile charge is negligible. Post-oxidation treatments did not anneal out the oxide traps but released additional positive charge in the oxide.