Defects and electrical consequences in SOI buried oxides

Buried oxides in SOI material contain a number of defects and other features which affect their electrical properties. SIMOX oxides are Si rich and may contain regions of either Si precipitates or lower BOX thicknesses which can cause premature breakdown. Bonded oxides have fewer of these defects but may exhibit microvoids or embedded particles which affect pinhole densities andlor leakage currents. These defects can affect yield by damage to the material during plasma or RIE processing.