Method for forming nanometer-sized silicon quantum dots

[0002] The present invention relates to a method for forming nanometer-sized silicon quantum dots; and, more particularly, to a method for forming electronically separated and nanometer-sized silicon quantum dots on a silicon substrate covered with a silicon nitride thin film by using a surface chemical reaction technique.

[0003] Recently, there is a demand for the miniaturization of a semiconductor device and it is necessary to improve on a nanostructural technology to achieve low cost, high efficiency and high purity. A conventional method for forming nanometer-sized silicon quantum dots is using high-energy electron beams for patterning. However, it is expensive and takes long processing time to make silicon quantum dots by using high-energy electron beams.

[0004] It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a method for forming electrically separated and highly pure silicon quantum dots on a silicon substrate covered with a silicon nitride thin film by using surface chemical reaction technique to minimize problems caused by the conventional method.

[0005] In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for forming silicon quantum dots by using uniformly sized and distributed nanometer-sized silicon nitride islands as a mask against an oxygen gas, under vacuum conditions to eliminate any impurities in all processes. First, using low energy nitrogen ion beams, a silicon nitride thin film is formed. On the top of the silicon nitride thin film, silicon thin film in few nanometer thick is formed by using a silicon vapor deposition technique. Then the surface of the silicon substrate is reacted with a nitrogen gas to form silicon nitride islands, few to tens of nanometer in size and single-layered in thickness, while maintaining the surface at about 800° C. Since silicon nitride is not reactive with an oxygen gas, the silicon nitride islands are used as a mask against an oxygen gas. The surface of the silicon substrate is heated to 700° C. and the oxygen gas is injected to etch the silicon thin film selectively, not the portion covered with the silicon nitride islands. Therefore, the silicon quantum dots in thin film thickness can be formed by using the surface chemical reaction technique.

[0006] Other objects and aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0007] FIGS. 1A to 1E show forming processes of nanometer-sized silicon quantum dots in accordance with the present invention.

[0008] This section will describe the present invention in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0009] FIG. 1 illustrates processes of forming nanometer-sized silicon quantum dots. FIG. 1A shows the process of forming a silicon nitride thin film and FIG. 1B shows the process of forming a silicon thin film by a silicon vapor deposition technique. FIG. 1C shows the process of forming single-layered silicon nitride islands, few to tens of nanometers in size. FIG. 1D shows the process of forming the silicon quantum dots capped with the silicon nitride islands, few to tens of nanometers in size. And finally, FIG. 1E shows the finishing process of the silicon quantum dots, few to tens of nanometers in size. All the processes are performed under 10⁻¹⁰Torr as a base pressure and each of the detailed processes will be described hereinafter.

[0010] Referring to FIG. 1A, the upper surface of a silicon substrate (11) is heated to 1230° C. for tens of seconds and cooled down to a room temperature. By repeating this process several times the surface is cleaned in atomic level. Then low energy N₂⁺ions (˜100 eV) are injected on the silicon substrate (11) by using an ion gun. The silicon substrate is annealed at 980° C. for several minutes so that a silicon nitride thin film (12) can be formed on the silicon substrate (11) for a surface deactivation.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1B, a silicon evaporator is heated to about 1300° C. in order to evaporate silicon gas in the silicon evaporator. Then the silicon substrate having the silicon nitride thin film formed thereon, maintaining about 350° C., comes close to the evaporator to form a silicon thin film (13) on top of the silicon nitride thin film (12). After the formation of the silicon nitride thin film (12) and the silicon thin film (13) on the silicon substrate (11), the resultant silicon substrate is heated to 800° C. and a nitrogen gas with a partial pressure of 1×10⁻⁵Torr is injected to form silicon nitride islands with a uniform size distribution as shown FIG. 1C.

[0012] The next process is an injection of an oxygen gas (O₂) under a partial pressure (P_O2) of 1×10⁻⁷Torr on the silicon substrate to form silicon quantum dots, few to tens of nanometer in size. In this process the silicon substrate is maintained at 700° C. Then the oxygen gas reacts with the silicon thin film (13) only, not the silicon nitride islands (14), for etching (Si+O_2→SiO(↑)). This reaction does not affect the silicon thin film portion with the silicon nitride islands. Through these processes the silicon quantum dots, with few to tens of nanometer in size and thin film depth in height, are formed.

[0013] After the formation of the silicon quantum dots (13) covered with the silicon nitride islands, the final process is an elimination of the silicon nitride islands (14). As shown in FIG. 1E, the surface of the silicon substrate from the FIG. 1D is injected with CF₄⁺ions of the energy of 100˜200 eV to eliminate the silicon nitride islands. Then the silicon substrate is annealed at 900° C. to recover the surface of the silicon substrate in atomic level.

[0014] The present invention to form the nanometer-sized silicon quantum dots uses the surface chemical reaction technique. Therefore, this invention can effectively decrease the cost and the processing time. It can also be expected to manufacture a structure with very high purity and electrically separated and nanometer-sized silicon quantum dots. Another advantage of this process is that the height of the silicon quantum dots can be uniformly formed on the silicon substrate since the deposition is done by using a silicon vapor deposition technique and the etching is done selectively by using the oxygen gas. Therefore, this invention can be easily applied to the manufacturing of a nanometer sized semiconductor device.

[0015] Although the preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.