Process For The Low Temperature Creation Of Nitride Films On Semiconductors

Abstract

Processes (30, 40) have been developed for forming nitride films (35, 45, 37, 47) at low temperatures and at near atmospheric pressure on sample materials 12, including metals, for example, Co, Cr, Fe, Mo, Si, Ta, Ti, V, and W, and including group IV and group III-V semiconductors, for example, Si and GaAs, respectively. The processes (30, 40) are performed using a reaction system (10) which comprises a reactor (11) enclosed within a dry box (13), a hydrazine bubbler (18), gas sources (14a-14e), and an optional gas disposal system (22) for disposing of exhaust from the reactor (11). The surface of the sample material (12) is initially cleaned to remove any oxides and carbon compounds. The surface is then maintained at a temperature between 0° and 400° C. and at a pressure between 0.001 and 10,000 Torr. The surface is treated with hydrazine by introducing the hydrazine in a gaseous phase over the surface. Nitrogen reactants are formed by the breakdown of the hydrazine, and the nitrogen reactants combine with and consume a portion of the sample material 12 to form a nitride film (35, 45). A thicker nitride film (37, 47) is created by the chemical vapor deposition of boron nitride over the thin nitride film (35, 45).