Abstract
Aluminum oxide thin films were deposited on p-type(100) silicon substrates by electron cyclotron resonance plasma enhanced CVD(ECR-PECVD) using TMA[Al(CH3)3] and oxygen as reactant gases at 16$0^{\circ}C$ or lower temperatures. The aluminum oxide films deposited by ECR-PECVD have the amorphous structure with the refractive index of 1.62~1.64 and the O/Al ratio of 1.6~1.7. Oxygen flow rate necessary for the stable deposition of the aluminum oxide films increases as the deposition temperature increases. It was found from the OES analysis that the ECR plasma had les cooling effect by introducing the TMA reactant gas in comparison with the RF plasma. The properties of aluminum oxide films prepared by ECR-PECVD were compared with those prepared by RF-PECVD. The ECR-PECVD aluminum oxide films have the higher refractive indices, the lower contents of impurities (H and C) and the stronger wet etch resistance than those deposited by RF-PECVD.
