Part III – March 1968 - Papers - Processing and Evaluation of Rf Sputtered Quartz

The results of a study on the preparation of thin-film capacitor structures are discussed. The dietectric source material was quartz which was sputtered and deposited onto aluminum electrodes and counter-electroded to complete the metal-oxide-metal structures. This configuration was utilized to evaluate the dielectric, the device characteristics, and related process parameters. The effect of gas sputtering pressure, magnetic field strength, source-to-substrate distance, and power density on the rate of deposition is shown. Increased film thickness uniformity over a 3 by 3 in. area by optimum substrate positioning is indicated. Dielectric constant, dissipation factor, dielectric breakdown strength, insulation resistance, heat treatment, capacitance, and dissipation over the range 400 Hz to 5 MHz are reported. In the fabrication of silicon-integrated circuits, silicon dioxide has found use as a material suitable as a diffusion mask, for surface passivation of the silicon, and for protection of conductive films used for interconnections. Its use as a dielectric for thin-film capacitors in film hybrid circuits has been limited, to a degree, for lack of a compatible processing technique and because of its relatively low dielectric constant. With the recent advent of practical metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) field effect devices, the material is now being used to insulate the gate electrode from the conducting channel in the silicon. In this latter application, more stringent requirements have been imposed on .the oxide. A comprehensive resume of the use of silicon dioxide in integrated silicon device technology has been compiled including oxide film and bulk properties, method of oxide formations, and their applications.' A relatively new process to deposit SiO, and other dieIectrics is by rf sputtering, and the purpose of this paper is to describe the behavior of capacitors fabricated with a dielectric which has been sputtered from a quartz target and to indicate the relative effect of several of the process parameters on the film deposition. Work on rf sputtering of SiO2 and other dielectrics has been reported utilizing a triode type of sputtering system as described herein or a diode self-sustained glow discharge system. 2-8 SPUTTERING The process occurs during an electrical discharge in a gas plasma which provides the ions for acceleration to the target to produce the desired sputtering. The necessary plasma can be generated by a dc glow discharge through application of a high potential between two electrodes at approximately 2 to 10 x 10-2