Atomic Layer Deposited Al2O3 Gate Research Articles

Study of Gate Leakage Current on AlGaN/GaN MOSHEMTs with Atomic Layer Deposited Al₂O₃ Gate Oxide

Study of Gate Leakage Current on AlGaN/GaN MOSHEMTs with Atomic Layer Deposited Al₂O₃ Gate Oxide

Dual-Functional Long-Term Plasticity Emulated in IGZO-Based Photoelectric Neuromorphic Transistors

Indium–gallium–zinc-oxide (IGZO) photoelectric neuromorphic transistors with low-temperature atomic layer deposited Al2O3 gate dielectrics are fabricated. Dual-functional long-term plasticity, including long-term depression (LTD) and long-term potentiation (LTP), is emulated. The emulation of LTD is achieved by applying high-electrical pulse trains on the gate electrode. The LTP emulation is realized by applying light pulse trains on the IGZO channel layer. The operation mechanisms of the LTD and the LTP are discussed based on the electron/hole trapping in the Al2O3 gate dielectrics and the persistent photoconductivity of the IGZO channel layer.

Thickness engineering of atomic layer deposited Al2O3 films to suppress interfacial reaction and diffusion of Ni/Au gate metal in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs up to 600 °C in air

In this paper, we describe the use of 50 nm atomic layer deposited (ALD) Al2O3 to suppress the interfacial reaction and inter-diffusion between the gate metal and semiconductor interface, to extend the operation limit up to 600 °C in air. Suppression of diffusion is verified through Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) depth profiling and X-ray diffraction (XRD) and is further supported with electrical characterization. An ALD Al2O3 thin film (10 nm and 50 nm), which functions as a dielectric layer, was inserted between the gate metal (Ni/Au) and heterostructure-based semiconductor material (AlGaN/GaN) to form a metal-insulator-semiconductor high electron mobility transistor (MIS-HEMT). This extended the 50 nm ALD Al2O3 MIS-HEMT (50-MIS) current-voltage (Ids-Vds) and gate leakage (Ig,leakage) characteristics up to 600 °C. Both, the 10 nm ALD Al2O3 MIS-HEMT (10-MIS) and HEMT, failed above 350 °C, as evidenced by a sudden increase of approximately 50 times and 5.3 × 106 times in Ig,leakage, respectively. AES on the HEMT revealed the formation of a Ni-Au alloy and Ni present in the active region. Additionally, XRD showed existence of metal gallides in the HEMT. The 50-MIS enables the operation of AlGaN/GaN based electronics in oxidizing high-temperature environments, by suppressing interfacial reaction and inter-diffusion of the gate metal with the semiconductor.

The impact of forming gas annealing on the electrical characteristics of sulfur passivated Al2O3/In0.53Ga0.47As (110) metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors

This study reports the impact of forming gas annealing (FGA) on the electrical characteristics of sulfur passivated, atomic layer deposited Al2O3 gate dielectrics deposited on (110) oriented n- and p-doped In0.53Ga0.47 As layers metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors (MOSCAPs). In combination, these approaches enable significant Fermi level movement through the bandgap of both n- and p-doped In0.53Ga0.47 As (110) MOSCAPs. A midgap interface trap density (Dit) value in the range 0.87−1.8×1012 cm−2eV−1 is observed from the samples studied. Close to the conduction band edge, a Dit value of 3.1×1011 cm−2eV−1 is obtained. These data indicate the combination of sulfur pre-treatment and FGA is advantageous in passivating trap states in the upper half of the bandgap of (110) oriented In0.53Ga0.47 As. This is further demonstrated by a reduction in border trap density in the n-type In0.53Ga0.47 As (110) MOSCAPs from 1.8×1012 cm−2 to 5.3×1011 cm−2 as a result of the FGA process. This is in contrast to the observed increase in border trap density after FGA from 7.3×1011 cm−2 to 1.4×1012 cm−2 in p-type In0.53Ga0.47 As (110) MOSCAPs, which suggest FGA is not as effective in passsivating states close to the valence band edge.

DC characteristics of ALD-grown Al2O3/AlGaN/GaN MIS-HEMTs and HEMTs at 600 °C in air

To the best of our knowledge, the 600 °C device characteristics detailed here reflect the highest operation temperature reported for AlGaN/GaN metal-insulator-semiconductor high electron mobility transistors (MIS-HEMTs) in air which supports the realization of electronics for high-temperature applications (e.g., space exploration, combustion and downhole). The high-temperature response of Al2O3/AlGaN/GaN MIS-HEMTs with Al2O3 deposited by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (ALD) as the gate dielectric and passivation layers was examined here. More specifically, the DC current–voltage response and the threshold voltage characteristics of the MIS-HEMTs were evaluated to temperatures up to 600 °C in air. For comparison, the response of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs without the ALD Al2O3 layer was also measured. It was observed that the HEMTs failed above 300 °C accompanied by a ∼500 times increase in leakage current and observation of bubbles formed in active region of gate. On the contrary, the MIS-HEMTs continued to operate normally up to 600 °C. However, within the 30 min period exposed to 600 °C the MIS-HEMT degraded permanently. This was observed at 20 °C after return from operation at 600 °C as a change in threshold voltage and saturation drain current. The failure of the HEMTs is suggested to be due to the diffusion of gate metals (Ni and Au) into the active regions of the AlGaN/GaN heterostructure, which creates additional leakage current pathways. The impact of strain relaxation and interfacial trapped charges on threshold voltage as a function of temperature was studied using an energy band-gap model. The ALD Al2O3 gate dielectric layer acts as a diffusion barrier to the Ni and Au gate metals, thus enabling short-term operation of MIS-HEMTs to 600 °C, the highest operation temperature reported for this device architecture to date.

Selective Passivation of GeO2/Ge Interface Defects in Atomic Layer Deposited High-k MOS Structures.

Effective passivation of interface defects in high-k metal oxide/Ge gate stacks is a longstanding goal of research on germanium metal-oxide-semiconductor devices. In this paper, we use photoelectron spectroscopy to probe the formation of a GeO2 interface layer between an atomic layer deposited Al2O3 gate dielectric and a Ge(100) substrate during forming gas anneal (FGA). Capacitance- and conductance-voltage data were used to extract the interface trap density energy distribution. These results show selective passivation of interface traps with energies in the top half of the Ge band gap under annealing conditions that produce GeO2 interface layer growth. First-principles modeling of Ge/GeO2 and Ge/GeO/GeO2 structures and calculations of the resulting partial density of states (PDOS) are in good agreement with the experiment results.

GaSb p-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor and its temperature dependent characteristics**Project supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2011CBA00602) and the National Science and Technology Major Project of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (Grant No. 2011ZX02708-002).

GaSb p-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) with an atomic layer deposited Al2O3 gate dielectric and a self-aligned Si-implanted source/drain are experimentally demonstrated. Temperature dependent electrical characteristics are investigated. Different electrical behaviors are observed in two temperature regions, and the underlying mechanisms are discussed. It is found that the reverse-bias pn junction leakage of the drain/substrate is the main component of the off-state drain leakage current, which is generation-current dominated in the low temperature regions and is diffusion-current dominated in the high temperature regions. Methods to further reduce the off-state drain leakage current are given.

Optimization of the $\hbox{Al}_{2}\hbox{O}_{3}/ \hbox{GaSb}$ Interface and a High-Mobility GaSb pMOSFET

While there have been many demonstrations on n-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) in III-V semiconductors showing excellent electron mobility and high drive currents, hole mobility in III-V p-channel MOSFETs (pMOSFETs) has traditionally lagged in comparison to silicon. GaSb is an attractive candidate for high-performance III-V pMOSFETs due to its high bulk hole mobility. We fabricate and study GaSb pMOSFETs with an atomic layer deposition Al <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> O <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> gate dielectric and a self-aligned source/drain formed by ion implantation. The band offsets of Al <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> O <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> on GaSb were measured using synchrotron radiation photoemission spectroscopy. The use of a forming gas anneal to passivate the dangling bonds in the bulk of the dielectric was demonstrated. The density of interface states <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">D</i> <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">it</sub> was measured across the GaSb band gap using conductance measurements, and a midband-gap <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">D</i> <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">it</sub> of 3 × 10 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">11</sup> /cm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> eV was achieved. This enabled pMOSFETs with a peak hole mobility value of 290 cm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> /Vs.

High-Speed AlN/GaN MOS-HFETs With Scaled ALD $ \hbox{Al}_{2}\hbox{O}_{3}$ Gate Insulators

Highly scaled AlN/GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor heterojunction field-effect transistors (MOS-HFETs) with Al <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> O <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> gate dielectrics of varying thicknesses deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) were fabricated, and their performance was compared with Schottky-barrier HFETs (SB-HFETs). MOS-HFETs with an ultrathin 2-nm-thick Al <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> O <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> dielectric and a gate length of 40 nm had direct-current (dc) and radio-frequency (RF) performances similar to the SB-HFETs, with a high extrinsic transconductance of 415 mS/mm, <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">f</i> <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">T</sub> of 134 GHz, and <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">f</i> <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">max</sub> of 261 GHz. In contrast, the dc and RF performances of a MOS-HFET with a 4-nm-thick Al <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> O <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> dielectric were degraded by short-channel effects. The 2-nm-thick Al <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> O <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> gate insulator reduced the forward-bias gate current by more than two orders of magnitude. The data suggest the promise of ultrathin ALD Al <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> O <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> gate dielectrics for next-generation high-speed GaN HFETs.

Electron Mobility in Surface- and Buried-Channel Flatband $\hbox{In}_{0.53}\hbox{Ga}_{0.47}\hbox{As}$ MOSFETs With ALD $\hbox{Al}_{2}\hbox{O}_{3}$ Gate Dielectric

In this letter, we investigate the scaling potential of flatband III-V MOSFETs by comparing the mobility of surface and buried-channel In0.53Ga0.47As devices employing an atomic layer-deposited Al2O3 gate dielectric and a delta-doped InGaAs/InAlAs/InP heterostructure. Peak electron mobilities of 4300 cm2/V · s and 6600 cm2/V · s at a carrier density of 3 × 1012 cm-2 were determined for the surfaceand buried-channel structures, respectively. In contrast to similarly scaled inversion-channel devices, we find that the mobility in surface channel flatband structures does not drop rapidly with the electron density, but rather high mobility is maintained up to carrier concentrations around 4 × 1012 cm-2 before slowly dropping to around 2000 cm2/V · s at 1 × 1013 cm-2. We believe these to be world leading metrics for this material system and an important development in informing the III-V MOSFET device architecture selection process for the future low-power highly scaled CMOS.

Fabrication and Characteristics of AlInN/AlN/GaN MOS-HEMTs with Ultra-Thin Atomic Layer Deposited Al2O3 Gate Dielectric

Al 0.85In0.15N/AlN/GaNmetal-oxide-semiconductor high electron mobility transistors (MOS-HEMTs) employing a 3-nm ultra-thin atomic-layer deposited (ALD) Al2O3 gate dielectric layer are reported. Devices with 0.6μm gate lengths exhibit an improved maximum drain current density of 1227mA/mm at a gate bias of 3 V, a peak transconductance of 328mS/mm, a cutoff frequency fT of 16 GHz, a maximum frequency of oscillation fmax of 45 GHz, as well as significant gate leakage suppression in both reverse and forward directions, compared with the conventional Al0.85In 0.15N/AlN/GaN HEMT. Negligible C — V hysteresis, together with a smaller pinch-off voltage shift, is observed, demonstrating few bulk traps in the dielectric and high quality of the Al2O3/AlInN interface. It is most notable that not only the transconductance profile of the MOS-HEMT is almost the same as that of the conventional HEMT with a negative shift, but also the peak transconductance of the MOS-HEMT is increased slightly. It is an exciting improvement in the transconductance performance.

High Microwave-Noise Performance of AlGaN/GaN MISHEMTs on Silicon With $\hbox{Al}_{2}\hbox{O}_{3}$ Gate Insulator Grown by ALD

High microwave-noise performance is realized in AlGaN/GaN metal-insulator semiconductor high-electron mobility transistors (MISHEMTs) on high-resistivity silicon substrate using atomic-layer-deposited (ALD) Al <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> O <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> as gate insulator. The ALD Al <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> O <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> /AlGaN/GaN MISHEMT with a 0.25- ¿m gate length shows excellent microwave small signal and noise performance. A high current-gain cutoff frequency <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">fT</i> of 40 GHz and maximum oscillation frequency <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">f</i> <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">max</sub> of 76 GHz were achieved. At 10 GHz, the device exhibits low minimum-noise figure (NF <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">min</sub> ) of 1.0 dB together with high associate gain ( <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Ga</i> ) of 10.5 dB and low equivalent noise resistance ( <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Rn</i> ) of 29.2 ¿. This is believed to be the first report of a 0.25-¿m gate-length GaN MISHEMT on silicon with such microwave-noise performance. These results indicate that the AlGaN/GaN MISHEMT with ALD Al <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> O <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> gate insulator on high-resistivity Si substrate is suitable for microwave low-noise applications.

Improved electrical characteristics of TaN/Al2O3/In0.53Ga0.47As metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors by fluorine incorporation

In this work, a postgate CF4 plasma treatment has been demonstrated on In0.53Ga0.47As channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors. Fluorine (F) has been incorporated into the atomic layer deposited Al2O3 gate dielectric by postgate CF4 plasma treatment. A smaller subthreshold swing and reduced interface trap density has been achieved with F passivation, suggesting a better interface quality. With CF4 plasma treatment, drive current, transconductance and effective channel mobility has been shown to increase by 13.9%, 12.5%, and 29.6%, in comparison to the control devices, respectively.

High performance In0.7Ga0.3As metal-oxide-semiconductor transistors with mobility &amp;gt;4400 cm2/V s using InP barrier layer

We have investigated device performance for In0.7Ga0.3As and In0.53Ga0.47As metal-oxide-semiconductor transistors (MOSFETs) with and without InP barrier layer using atomic layer deposited Al2O3 gate dielectric. InP barrier layer was found to provide higher transconductance for both In0.7Ga0.3As and In0.53Ga0.47As MOSFETs, especially for In0.7Ga0.3As. In0.7Ga0.3As MOSFETs with InP barrier layer show much higher transconductance and lower subthreshold swing than other MOSFETs studied. These In0.7Ga0.3As MOSFETs exhibit high drive current of 98 mA/mm (L=20 μm), subthreshold swing of 106 mV/decade and maximum effective channel mobility of 4402 cm2/V s.

High performance thin film transistor with low temperature atomic layer deposition nitrogen-doped ZnO

High performance thin film transistor (TFT) with atomic layer deposition (ALD) nitrogen doped ZnO (ZnO:N) as an active layer is demonstrated. The electrical properties of ZnO thin films were effectively controlled by in situ nitrogen doping using NH4OH as a source for reactants. Especially, the electron concentration in ZnO was lowered to below 1015cm−3. Good device characteristics were obtained from the inverted staggered type TFTs with ZnO:N channel and ALD Al2O3 gate insulator; μsat=6.7cm2∕Vs, Ioff=2.03×10−12A, Ion∕off=9.46×107, and subthreshold swing=0.67V∕decade. The entire TFT fabrication processes were carried out at below 150°C, which is a favorable process for plastic based flexible display.

GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor high-electron-mobility-transistor with atomic layer deposited Al2O3 as gate dielectric

We report on a GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor high-electron-mobility-transistor (MOS-HEMT) using atomic-layer-deposited (ALD) Al2O3 as the gate dielectric. Compared to a conventional GaN high-electron-mobility-transistor (HEMT) of similar design, the MOS-HEMT exhibits several orders of magnitude lower gate leakage and several times higher breakdown voltage and channel current. This implies that the ALD Al2O3∕AlGaN interface is of high quality and the ALD Al2O3∕AlGaN∕GaN MOS-HEMT is of high potential for high-power rf applications. In addition, the high-quality ALD Al2O3 gate dielectric allows the effective two-dimensional (2D) electron mobility at the AlGaN∕GaN heterojunction to be measured under a high transverse field. The resulting effective 2D electron mobility is much higher than that typical of Si, GaAs or InGaAs metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect-transistors (MOSFETs).