Simox technology: From basic research to industrial developments

SIMOX wafers are now produced with very good and reproducible quality. This paper describes the formation mechanisms of the SIMOX layers, and the conditions of fabrications used at LETI. Besides the NV200 implanter, the facility includes all the equipments required for high temperature annealing and control of the key parameters such as Oxygen dose, Silicon film thickness, and particles density. The material quality, in particular the thickness of the Silicon film and the buried oxide layer have improved with the knowledge of the process. Work is still going on to understand the formation mechanisms of dislocations in SIMOX films, and to further reduce their density.