Surface preparation and interfacial stability of high-k dielectrics deposited by atomic layer chemical vapor deposition

The effects of various interface preparations on atomic layer chemical vapor deposition (ALCVD) deposited Al 2O 3 and ZrO 2 dielectrics properties were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), medium energ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Microelectronic engineering 2003-03, Vol.65 (3), p.259-272
Main Authors: Tsai, W., Carter, R.J., Nohira, H., Caymax, M., Conard, T., Cosnier, V., DeGendt, S., Heyns, M., Petry, J., Richard, O., Vandervorst, W., Young, E., Zhao, C., Maes, J., Tuominen, M., Schulte, W.H., Garfunkel, E., Gustafsson, T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Atomic layer chemical vapor deposition
Dielectric, amorphous and glass solid devices
Electronics
Exact sciences and technology
High-k dielectrics
Interface
Interfaces
Microelectronic fabrication (materials and surfaces technology)
Molecular electronics, nanoelectronics
Semiconductor electronics. Microelectronics. Optoelectronics. Solid state devices
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Summary:The effects of various interface preparations on atomic layer chemical vapor deposition (ALCVD) deposited Al 2O 3 and ZrO 2 dielectrics properties were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), medium energy ion scattering (MEIS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). H-terminated Si, SiO 2 and SiO x N y surfaces were used as substrates upon which the dielectric was deposited. Thermal annealing of SiO 2 in NH 3 forms an oxynitride; subsequent deposition of a ZrO 2/Al 2O 3 bi-layer stack resulted in a capacitor structure with an equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) of ∼0.8 nm and a leakage current of 3×10 −4 A/cm 2 at −1+ V fb. This is in contrast to capacitor structures grown on H-terminated Si where high leakage was found. The growth of additional interfacial SiO 2 during processing, a critical problem in nano-electronic device applications, is temperature dependent with ZrO 2 exhibiting a higher oxygen permeability than Al 2O 3. Use of a polysilicon cap was shown to be effective at blocking oxygen absorption and transport through the high-k dielectrics, with stability up to 1100 °C.
ISSN:0167-9317
1873-5568
DOI:10.1016/S0167-9317(02)00898-5