Suppression of short channel effects in FinFETs using crystalline ZrO2 high-K/Al2O3 buffer layer gate stack for low power device applications

Abstract

The electrical characteristics of FinFETs with a crystalline ZrO2/Al2O3 buffer layer gate stack and a crystalline ZrO2 high-K dielectric single layer, along with different fin widths and gate lengths, are investigated. Compared with the FinFETs with a single layer of crystalline ZrO2 high-K dielectric, the gate stack comprising the crystalline ZrO2/Al2O3 buffer layer on FinFETs leads to the suppression of short channel effects in terms of a low drain induced barrier lowering, reduced threshold voltage roll-off, and improved subthreshold swing. The ON/OFF current ratio and gate leakage current of FinFETs are also improved by the crystalline ZrO2/Al2O3 buffer layer gate stack. The improvement of electrical characteristics is ascribed to the reduced interface state density and gate leakage as a result of the insertion of an Al2O3 buffer layer between ZrO2 and Si. The results demonstrate that the crystalline ZrO2/Al2O3 buffer layer structure is a promising high-K gate stack for next-generation nanoscale transistors.