Application of Optical Processing for Growth of Silicon Dioxide

A process for producing a silicon dioxide film on a surface of a silicon substrate. The process comprises illuminating a silicon substrate in a substantially pure oxygen atmosphere with a broad spectrum of visible and infrared light at an optical power density of from about 3 watts/cm2 to about 6 watts/cm2 for a time period sufficient to produce a silicon dioxide film on the surface of thesilicon substrate. An optimum optical power density is about 4 watts/cm2 for growth of a 100-300..ANG.. film at a resultant temperature of about 400 deg. C. Deep level transient spectroscopy analysis detects no measureable impurities introduced into the silicon substrate during silicon oxide production and shows the interface state density at the SiO2/Si interface to be very low.