Process for forming silicon oxide film

Claim 2

A process according to claim 1, wherein said organosilane or organosiloxane gas is one or more of tetraethoxysilane, tetramethoxysilane, tetramethylsilane, tetramethylcyclotetrasiloxane, octomethylcyclotetrasiloxane, diacetoxy-di-tert-butoxysilane, hexamethyldisiloxane, and their substituted compounds.

Claim 3

A process according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said gas containing H and OH is water vapour or hydrogen peroxide.

Claim 4

A process according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said thin film is deposited at room temperature or above and contains 90% by weight or less of the organic groups prior to removing the organic groups from the thin film to obtain a silicon oxide film.

Claim 5

A process according to claim 4, wherein said thin film is deposited at room temperature or above and contains 20 to 60% by weight of the organic groups prior to removing the organic groups from the thin film to obtain a silicon oxide film.

Claim 6

A process according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said thin film is deposited at room temperature or below and contains 30% by weight or less of the organic groups prior to removing the organic groups from the thin film to obtain a silicon oxide film.

Claim 7

A process according to any preceding claim, wherein said excitation is conducted in a pulsing manner.

Claim 8

A process according to claim 7, wherein said excitation time is short such that the organosilane or organosiloxane gas or its reaction product still contains the organic group when it reaches the substrate.

Claim 9

A process according to claim 1, wherein deposition of said thin film is conducted at a temperature in the range of from -50 to 450°C.

Claim 10

A process according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein the step of removing the organic groups is conducted by the use of a heat treatment at a temperature in the range of from 250 to 850°C.

Claim 11

A process according to claim 9, wherein the deposition of said thin film is conducted at a temperature in the range of from room temperature to 250°C and the step of removing the organic groups is conducted by the use of a heat treatment at a temperature in the range of from 250 to 450°C.

Claim 12

A process according to claim 1, wherein the deposition of said thin film and removal of the organic groups are successively conducted without breaking the vacuum.

Claim 13

A process according to claim 11, wherein said thin film is irradiated with ultraviolet rays simultaneously with or subsequent to the heat treatment.

Claim 14

A process according to claim 1, wherein the flow rate ratio of the gas containing H and OH to the organosilane or organosiloxane gas is 1/10 to 50 times the stoichiometric molar ratio necessary for completely hydrolyzing or oxidizing the organosilane or organosiloxane with the gas containing H and OH.

Claim 15

A process according to any one of claims 1-8 and 10, wherein the step of removing the organic groups comprises subjecting the thin film to a plasma treatment.

Claim 16

A process according to claim 15 when dependent on claim 1 only, wherein said plasma treatment is conducted at a temperature in the range of from room temperature to 450°C.

Claim 17

A process according to claim 15 or claim 16, wherein a silicon oxide film having a desired film thickness is formed on the substrate by alternatively repeating the step of deposition and the step of plasma treatment in an identical chamber.

Claim 18

A process according to claim 16, wherein said plasma treatment is conducted by means of oxygen, hydrogen, or water plasma and the substrate temperature is in the range of from 100 to 250°C.

Claim 19

A process according to claim 18, wherein, after the steps of deposition and plasma treatment, heat treatment is conducted at a temperature in the range of from 250 to 450°C.

Claim 20

A process according to claim 15, when dependent on claim 1 only, or claim 17, wherein the step of deposition and the step of plasma treatment are alternately conducted by intermittently stopping the supply of the organosilane or organosiloxane gas to the reaction chamber.

Claim 21

A process according to claim 15 when dependent on claim 1 only, or claim 17, wherein said excitation is conducted in a pulsing manner.

Claim 22

A process according to claim 1, wherein one or more of a phosphorus source, a boron source, and an arsenic source is introduced together with the organosilane or organosiloxane gas and the gas containing H and OH to incorporate one or more of phosphorus, boron, and arsenic into the thin film.

Claim 23

A process according to any one of claims 1-8, 10, 15 and 17, wherein a gas containing nitrogen is introduced together with the organosilane or organosiloxane and the gas containing H and OH to incorporate nitrogen into the thin film.

Claim 24

A process according to any one of claims 1-8, 10, 15, 17 and 23, wherein oxygen gas is further continuously or intermittently introduced into the organosilane gas or organosiloxane gas and the gas containing H and OH.

Claim 25

A process according to claim 1, wherein said deposition is conducted through the use of a planar-type plasma CVD system under conditions of a pressure of 0.6 kPa to 1.9 kPa (5 to 15 Torr), a temperature of room temperature to 250°C, a distance between electrodes of 6 to 25 mm, a gas flow rate of 100 to 18000 cm 3 /min, an RF (discharge) frequency of 13.56 MHz, a pulse period of 100 times or less the time taken for the reaction gas to pass through between electrodes of the parallel plates, a discharge power of 100 to 500W, a discharge "on" time satisfying a requirement represented by the formula D ≤ 300 P {140 - (140/310) T } wherein D represents the length of a discharge "on" time in terms of % by assuming a time taken for a gas to reach the substrate after the introduction thereof into the plasma region to be 100 with the upper limit of the discharge "on" time being 100%, P represents an RF power, and T represents the temperature of the substrate.

Claim 26

A process according to claim 1, wherein said silicon oxide film is a layer insulation film for multilayer interconnection of a semiconductor device.