Step 5 of 17Wafer fabrication (front-end)
Oxidation
Growing a silicon-dioxide layer.
Learn → Understand → Explore → Calculate
At a glance
Inputs
- Silicon wafer
- Oxygen (dry) or water vapour (wet)
- Heat
ProcessOxidation
Outputs
- Wafer with a controlled-thickness SiO₂ layer
What is it?
Thermal growth of a silicon-dioxide (SiO₂) layer by reacting the silicon surface with oxygen or steam at high temperature.
Why is it needed?
Silicon's native oxide is one of the reasons silicon dominates electronics: SiO₂ is a stable, high-quality insulator used as gate dielectric, masking layer, and surface passivation.
How does it work?
Wafers are heated in a furnace (typically 900–1200 °C). Dry oxidation uses O₂ for thin, high-quality films; wet oxidation uses steam for faster, thicker growth.
Oxygen diffuses through the growing oxide to react at the silicon interface, consuming some silicon as the oxide thickens.
Critical parameters
- Oxide thickness
- Temperature
- Ambient (dry vs wet)
- Interface trap density
Typical defects
- Thickness non-uniformity
- Pinholes
- Interface states
- Contamination-induced charge
Equipment involved
- Thermal oxidation / diffusion furnace
- Rapid thermal processing (RTP) tools
Materials involved
- Oxygen
- High-purity water
- Silicon
Keep going
Related tools
No calculator maps directly to this step yet. Browse all tools →