Point defect generation by the oxidation of silicon surface

The thermal oxidation process of silicon is indispensable for the fabrication of silicon semiconductor devices. Unoxidized silicon atoms generated at the Si/SiO₂ interface diffuse into the bulk inside and induce the formation of oxidation stacking faults (OSF). By solving the rate equation of self-interstitials, the supersaturated concentration was analytically obtained. Consequently, a useful expression between OSF radius and the oxidation time was derived. For the first time, the generation rate of self-interstitials was also theoretically obtained.