Abstract
The origin of impurity incorporation in the ZrO2 films deposition by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition with Ar-carried zirconium t-butoxide (ZTB) and O2 was delineated by optical emission spectroscopy, quadrupole mass spectrometry, transmission Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Hydrocarbons were the predominant contaminants in films obtained with only ZTB in the plasma, while their fractions decreased rapidly with the increasing O2 to ZTB-carrying Ar flow rate ratio (O2/Ar), and eventually became negligible in the oxygen-rich condition at O2/Ar⩾2. However, the increasing amount of oxygen led to the formation of hydrogen carbonate and formate from CO chemisorption at O2/Ar=0.5 to mostly bidentate carbonate from CO2 chemisorption at O2/Ar=2. The films from all conditions contained a significant amount of hydrogen-bonded hydroxyl groups. At higher O2/Ar ratios, the decrease in hydrocarbon concentration and the increase in carbonate fractions resulted in the increase in the dielectric constant and the negative oxide trapped charges.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
