Scanning transmission electron microscopy investigations of interfacial layers in HfO2 gate stacks

Abstract

Electron energy-loss spectroscopy combined with high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) imaging in scanning transmission electron microscopy was used to investigate the chemistry of interfacial layers in HfO2 gate stacks capped with polycrystalline Si gate electrodes. To interpret the energy-loss near-edge fine structure (ELNES) obtained from the interfacial layers, reference spectra were obtained from single crystal hafnium silicate (HfSiO4), monoclinic HfO2 powder, and amorphous SiO2. No bulk-like silicate bonding could be detected in the ELNES of Si L2,3 and O K edges recorded from layers at the Si substrate interface. Compared to bulk SiO2, the interfacial ELNES showed additional features that were caused by overlap of signals from Si, HfO2, and SiO2, despite a relatively small electron probe size of ∼3Å. HAADF showed that interfacial roughness caused the projected thickness of nominally pure SiO2 (within the detection limit of the method) to be as small as ∼5Å in many locations.