Influence of layer transfer and thermal annealing on the properties of InAs-On-Insulator films

Abstract

InAs-On-Insulator (InAs-OI) structures fabricated by the Smart Cut process are promising for three-dimensional (3D) integration of complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor devices owing to the low thermal budget, high mobility, and low contact resistance. InAs-OI structures are also expected to reduce the leakage current and parallel conduction channels in InAs n-channel MOSFETs, which are serious problems. Smart Cut is a promising way to integrate III–V semiconductors on Si substrates for 3D integration. However, the electrical characterization of InAs-OI films realized by Smart Cut has not been reported yet. In addition, since InAs-OI’s crystallinity is severely degraded by passage of a large amount of H+ ions in the Smart Cut process, we need to study the effects of thermal annealing on the electrical properties of the InAs-OI layers. It is found from the annealing temperature dependence of the electron concentration and the mobility that annealing at 500 °C significantly recovers InAs-OI crystallinity. Here, bulk and interface electrical properties are separately evaluated from the InAs-OI thickness dependence on the electron concentration and the sheet conductance. As a result, fabricated InAs-OI has the electron density of (6.3 ± 1.4) × 1017 cm−3 in the bulk region for an intrinsic donor InAs wafer and the high bulk mobility of 5800 ± 900 cm2/V s, indicating the high crystallinity of InAs-OI after 500 °C annealing. Also, the reusability of donor InAs wafers without degradation of InAs-OI film quality, which is one of the most important points for Smart Cut, is demonstrated by using (111) InAs donor wafers, attributed to much smoother (111) InAs-OI surfaces after splitting than (100) InAs-OI ones.