Growth of Er Doped si Films by Electron Cyclotron Resonance Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition

Thin Si films doped with Er have been grown at low temperature by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The Er gas source is a sublimed organo-metallic compound fed into the process chamber. High doping concentrations without precipitation are possible because of the low deposition temperatures. The process relies on the beneficial effects of low energy ion bombardment to reduce the growth temperature. The ions as well as reactive chemical species are produced by an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma stream source. A hydrogen plasma stream is used to perform an in-situ pre-deposition clean to remove oxide from the Si surface. Film crystallinity and impurity concentration are determined by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry.