Investigation of the physicochemical properties, structure, and composition of nanosized borosilicate films prepared by the sol-gel method

This paper reports on the results of investigations into the specific features of the deposition of hybrid organic-inorganic borosilicate films prepared by the sol-gel method for the use in the planar technology of microelectronics. In order to modify the properties of the borosilicate films, a number of water-soluble hydroxyl-containing oligomers (with different molecular topologies and different molecular weights from 300 to 5100 g/mol) are introduced into the sol-gel system. The effect of these polyols on the sol viscosity, the thickness, and the surface morphology of the synthesized films is revealed by viscometry, ellipsometry, optical microscopy, atomic-force microscopy, and thermal analysis. These films are designed for the use as sources for boron diffusion into silicon in order to fabricate heavily doped diffusion layers with a dopant concentration of (5–7) × 1020 cm−3. The depth of occurrence of diffusion layers is approximately equal to 4 μm.