Stress-relaxation model for thermal oxide films grown on Si (100) substrates at low temperature

This study discusses a structural relaxation model for stressed thermal oxide films grown on Si (100) substrates at a temperature that is too low for viscous flow to relax an Si thermal oxide film. This relaxation model had been developed on the basis of activation energy analysis through ab initio calculations on transformations between different crystal types. The analysis revealed a systematic crystal transformation among three types of cristobalite crystals with their domain structures on the substrate. The findings of this study are expected to provide a correct understanding of the relaxation mechanism of oxidized films on a Si (100) surface using a dry-O2 gas.