Surface morphology of RF plasma immersion H+ ion implanted and oxidized Si(100) surface

The surface morphology of p-Si(100) wafers after RF plasma immersion (PII) H+ ion implantation into a shallow Si surface layer and after subsequent thermal oxidation was studied by atomic-force microscopic (AFM) imaging. After PII implantation of hydrogen ions with an energy of 2 keV and fluences ranging from 1013 cm−2 to 1015 cm−2 the Si wafers were oxidized in dry O2 at temperatures ranging from 700 °C to 800 °C. From the analysis of the AFM images, the surface amplitude parameters were evaluated and considered in terms of the technological conditions. The amplitude parameters showed a clear dependence on the H+ dose and the oxidation temperature, with the tendency of increasing with the increase of both the H+ ion fluence and the oxidation temperature. The implantation causes surface roughening, changing the RMS roughness value from 0.15 nm (typical for a polished Si(100) surface) to the highest value 0.6 nm for the H+ fluence of 1015 ions/cm2. Oxidation of the H+ implanted Si region, as the oxide is growing inward into Si, levels away the pits created by implants and results in a smoother surface, although keeping the RMS values larger than 0.2 nm.