AVS 52nd International Symposium
    Thin Films Thursday Sessions
       Session TF-ThM

Paper TF-ThM4
Custom-design of Optical Thin Films of Silicon Oxide by Direct Write Deposition

Thursday, November 3, 2005, 9:20 am, Room 306

Session: Optical Thin Films
Presenter: H.D. Wanzenboeck, Vienna University of Technology, Austria
Authors: H.D. Wanzenboeck, Vienna University of Technology, Austria
M. Fischer, Vienna University of Technology, Austria
E. Bertagnolli, Vienna University of Technology, Austria
Correspondent: Click to Email
The fabrication of optical transparent thin films on specific areas has gained increased interest due to optical interconnect concepts. Robust, inorganic materials such as silicon oxide provide optical interconnects with a high bandwith and a fast, power-saving data transmission. Moreover, the fabrication of transparent thin flims is also desirable for the modification of optical photomasks. This work describes a rapid fabrication approach of thin silicon oxide films on confined areas by direct-write deposition. This maskless process utilizes the localized chemical vapor deposition on specific areas utilizing a focused electron beam. The deposition from siloxane vapor in presence of oxygen is initiated by the energy of the electron beam with a 5 nm diameter. By scanning the beam, thin films with arbitrary geometry and 3-dimensional structures were deposited. The process was optimized towards a high deposition rate and high material purity. The influence of process parameters on the deposition efficiency is discussed. A characterization of the chemical composition and of the surface roughness was performed with AES and AFM respectively. The optical properties were investigated by infrared and UV/Vis spectroscopy. The correlation to processing conditions and the growth mechanism is discussed. The electrical features of silicon oxide were tested with a metal-insulator-metal capacitor setup. This work illustrates the flexibility of this maskless method and the potential to control material properties via the process parameters. The fabrication of exemplary structures such as 3-dimensional silicon oxide rods, transparent films in trenches and networks of silicon oxide wires illustrate the application potential of this versatile direct-write method.