Simulation and modeling of kinetics of silicon oxidation in the thin oxide regime

Thermal oxidation of Silicon in dry O2, in the thin regime(\u3c 500A) is of vital importance to VLSI device engineers, because thin layers of SiO2 are exclusively used as gate dielectric for high performance of MOS devices. There exist a number of models to explain the kinetics of oxidation in this thin regime. However there is considerable variance among them and the reported rate constants, which are supposed to describe the oxidation process. Rather than arriving at an alternative model, the present study aims at an extensive study and simulation of existing models of oxidation in dry oxygen, in the thin regime, with a recent set of experimental data and arrive at the best possible model and provide accurate rate constants for oxidation in dry oxygen. These experimental data have been obtained, earlier, using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and ellipsometry techniques to measure thicknesses of silicon oxide, grown at 800°C in dry oxygen, in the thickness range of 2-20 nm