Lab IA: Thermal Oxidation

  1. Start with two new wafers. Using a diamond scribe cleave each wafer into 9  pieces of equal size.
  2. To prepare the pieces for oxidation clean them using the RCA procedure.
  3. A goal of this lab is to determine the oxidation kinetics as a function of temperature and ambient. You will oxidize  your pieces using 2 dry O2 furnances and 1 wet oxidation furnace at the  thermal proccesing station. Although kinetics for both processes are published (see Campbell), there are always variations associated with furnace type, flow rates, etc. Through this experiment we will characterize our furnaces.
  4. To give us the most complete picture each group will use a different furnace temperature:

    Group A:  1000 ºC

    Group B:  1050 ºC

    Group C:  1100 ºC

    The details of each process are located on the dry oxide and wet oxide webpages, respectively. We will determine the oxidation times in lab.

  5. While you wafers are oxidizing we will learn how to measure oxide thickness with the Gaertner ellipsometer.