Growth of epitaxial silicon film at low temperature by using sputtering-type electron cyclotron resonance plasma

A novel method for growth of epitaxial silicon films on Si substrates at a low temperature of 400 °C has been developed using a sputtering-type electron cyclotron resonance plasma. The chamber has a base pressure of 5×10^-7 Torr, and the growth method includes in situ cleaning of Si substrates using suitable plasma bombardment and subsequent deposition at a high sputter rate to prevent impurity monolayer formation at the beginning of the deposition. The epitaxial growth conditions were investigated using spectroscopic ellipsometry and electron backscattering diffraction, and the effect of the Ar gas flow rate, for both the in situ cleaning and the deposition conditions, was studied. At the optimum growth conditions, Si thin films having characteristics close to crystal Si substrates were obtained. The deposition rate was as high as 6 nm/min.