Surface treatment for the atomic layer deposition of HfO2 on silicon

Abstract

The atomic layer deposition (ALD) of HfO2 on silicon with a Cl2 surface treatment is investigated by physicochemical and electrical techniques. The specificity of this treatment is to create, on a HF-dipped silicon surface, the nucleation sites necessary for the ALD growth. The growth rates obtained by spectroscopic ellipsometry and total x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy indicate that the nucleation sites (i.e., the –OH groups), which are necessary to perform some bidimensional ALD growth, are generated during this surface treatment. After deposition of thin HfO2 layers (from a few monolayers up to 8.7nm), a very thin parasitic SiOx layer, underneath 1 monolayer of Hf silicate, is observed by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Nevertheless, an equivalent oxide thickness of 1.1nm is obtained with an as-deposited 3.7nm thick HfO2 layer.