Post Deposition Annealing Atmosphere Effect on Performance of Solid State Incandescent Light Emitting Device

Abstract

Electrical and optical properties of solid state incandescent light emitting devices made from MOS capacitors of the same Zr-doped HfO2 high-k film but two different post deposition annealing atmospheres have been investigated. Compared with the N2 annealed sample, the O2 annealed capacitor has a thicker and more SiOx-rich interface layer, lower defect densities, a larger dielectric breakdown strength, and a lower leakage current. Light emitted from the solid-state incandescent light emitting device made from the O2 annealed capacitor has a high intensity and slightly more blue component than that made from the N2 annealed capacitor due to the higher temperature of the conductive path. The former contains more Si and O elements in conductive paths than the latter does, which can be used to explain the difference in their electrical and optical characteristics. The post deposition atmosphere affected the original high-k stack's material and physical properties, which influences the formation and material composition of conductive paths and eventually the light emission characteristics.