Remote Plasma Assisted, Low-Temperature SiO$_{2}$ growth on SiC for MOS Device Applications

SiC is an attractive material for semiconductor device applications in environments too harsh for normal Si-based semiconductors. It has high thermal conductivity and breakdown electric field strength enabling high power and temperature operation. SiO$_{2}$ is readily grown on SiC by high-temperature ($\sim $1200\r{ }C) thermal oxidation, but defect densities in the SiO$_{2}$/SiC interface limits device performance. Plasma-assisted oxidation of SiC is being investigated as a low-temperature alternative to thermal SiC oxidation to produce MOS devices with lower defect densities. SiC wafers were oxidized with a remote microwave plasma in an O$_{2}$ / Ar gas mixture at temperatures much lower than thermal oxidation. Recent results of the plasma assisted oxide growth process have shown significant improvement, with SiO$_{2}$ layers in excess of 600 {\AA} at growth temperatures near 300\r{ }C. Results will be presented of the plasma assisted SiC oxidation including plasma optical diagnostics and oxide layer characterization.