Current Transport Mechanism for HfO[sub 2] Gate Dielectrics with Fluorine Incorporation

Abstract

In this article, the current transport mechanism of fluorinated HfO 2 gate dielectrics is investigated. Based on the experimental results of the temperature dependence of gate leakage current and Fowler-Nordheim tunneling characteristics at 77 K, we have extracted the energy band diagrams and current transport mechanisms for TaN/HfOF/fluorinated-interfacial layer (IL)/Si structures. In particular, we have obtained the following quantities that will be useful for modeling and simulation: (i) fluorinated IL/Si barrier height (or conduction band offset): 3.2 eV; (ii) TaN/HfOF barrier height: 2.6 eV; and (iii) trap levels at 1.3 eV (under both gate and substrate injections) below the HfOF conduction band which contributes to Frenkel-Poole conduction.