Formation of buried oxide in silicon using separation by plasma implantation of oxygen

Plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) is used to fabricate buried oxide layers in silicon. This ‘‘separation by plasma implantation of oxygen’’ (SPIMOX) technique can achieve a nominal oxygen atom dose of 2×1017 cm−2 in implantation time of about 3 min. SPIMOX is thus presented as a practical high-throughput process for manufacturing silicon-on-insulator. In the SPIMOX samples prepared, three distinct modes of buried oxide microstructure formation are identified and related to the as-implanted oxygen profiles. A first-order model based on oxygen transport and oxide precipitation explains the formation mechanisms of these three types of SPIMOX layers.