Modeling the Properties of the PECVD Silicon Dioxide Films Using Polynomial Neural Networks

Since the neural network was introduced, significant progress has been made on data handling and learning algorithms. Currently, the most popular learning algorithm in neural network training is feed forward error back-propagation (FFEBP) algorithm. Aside from the success of the FFEBP algorithm, polynomial neural networks (PNN) learning has been proposed as a new learning method. The PNN learning is a self-organizing process designed to determine an appropriate set of Ivakhnenko polynomials that allow the activation of many neurons to achieve a desired state of activation that mimics a given set of sampled patterns. These neurons are interconnected in such a way that the knowledge is stored in Ivakhnenko coefficients. In this paper, the PNN model has been developed using the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) experimental data. To characterize the PECVD process using PNN, SiO$_2$films deposited under varying conditions were analyzed using fractional factorial experimental design with three center points. Parameters varied in these experiments included substrate temperature, pressure, RF power, silane flow rate and nitrous oxide flow rate. Approximately five microns of SiO$_2$were deposited on (100) silicon wafers in a Plasma-Therm 700 series PECVD system at 13.56 MHz.