Silicon oxidation by ozone.

Understanding the oxidation of silicon has been an ongoing challenge for many decades. Ozone has recently received considerable attention as an alternative oxidant in the low temperature, damage-free oxidation of silicon. The ozone-grown oxide was also found to exhibit improved interface and electrical characteristics over a conventionally dioxygen-grown oxide. In this review article, we summarize the key findings about this alternative oxidation process. We discuss the different methods of O(3) generation, and the advantages of the ozone-grown Si/SiO(2) interface. An understanding of the growth characteristics is of utmost importance for obtaining control over this alternative oxidation process.