Tht. Wu et al., COMPARISON OF PASSIVATION FILMS - THE EFFECT OF THERMAL CYCLES AND COMPARISON OF PHOSPHORUS-DOPED OXIDE-FILMS, Journal of vacuum science & technology. B, Microelectronics and nanometer structures processing, measurement and phenomena, 11(6), 1993, pp. 2090-2095
Choosing the correct passivation film can be a complicated task. Facto
rs such as sidewall integrity, sodium penetrability, and ability to wi
thstand postpassivation temperature cycles must be considered. Previou
s studies have defined standard techniques for testing sidewall integr
ity and sodium barrier ability. In this study, the effect of thermal c
ycle exposure on the sidewall integrity of plasma enhanced chemical va
por deposition (PECVD) passivation films (TEOS-based oxide, oxynitride
, and nitride) by varying factors such as film type, metal sputter tem
perature, and film stress was examined. It will be shown that metal sp
utter temperature and film stress are much more important than film ty
pe. In addition, the newer generation of TEOS-based phosphorous-doped
passivation films was compared to the standard, silane-based phosphosi
licate glass which is deposited using atmospheric pressure chemical va
por deposition (APCVD). The conclusion is that APCVD films are slightl
y better as deposited, but degrade during temperature cycles. The newe
r TEOS-based PECVD films, however, are not affected by temperature cyc
ling.