Characterization Of High-k Gate Dielectrics Research Articles

Latest Advances in the Implementation and Characterization of High-K Gate Dielectrics in SiC Power MOSFETs

Recently high-k gate dielectrics for SiC power MOSFETs attracted increasing research interest thanks to promising results related to improved specific channel resistances and threshold voltage stability. We investigated high-k gate stacks for 1.2kV and 3.3kV SiC power MOSFETs regarding on-state performance and stability during high temperature gate bias tests. Furthermore, we studied the high-k/SiC interface quality and the effect of burn-in pulses using SiC MOSCAPs. High-k SiC power MOSFETs show significant improvement in on-state performance and threshold voltage stability. We found that the burn-in pulses can be shorter for high-k gate dielectrics compared to SiO2-based devices.

Electrical characterization of high-k gate dielectrics on semiconductors

This paper reviews the following electrical characterization techniques for measuring the microscopic bonding structures, impurities, and electrically active defects in advanced CMOS gate stacks: (1) inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy (IETS), (2) lateral profiling of threshold voltages, interface-trap density, and oxide charge density distributions along the channel of a MOSFET, and (3) pulse agitated substrate hot electron injection (PASHEI) technique for measuring trapping effects in the gate dielectric at low and modest gate voltages.

Three-Dimensional Compositional Characterization of High-k Gate Dielectrics with LEAP Atom Probe Tomography

Laser pulsed atom probe tomography (APT) is used to quantitatively analyze oxides of interest to enable the timely the development of high-k gate dielectric films. Specific analysis of hafnium dioxide films, provided by IBM and characterized using the local electrode atom probe (LEAP®), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (SIMS) are compared and contrasted. A variety of LEAP tomography data analysis techniques will be discussed, including thickness measurements, surface definitions, and buried interface surface roughness calculations based on iso- chemical concentration surfaces. This work demonstrates the ability of the LEAP technique to rapidly and accurately characterize the complex composition and structure of novel high performance semiconductor devices with sub-nanometer resolution. The compositional and spatial information is used to quantify the differences which subtle surface preparation changes have upon the interfacial region for a high-k gate dielectric film.

Vacuum UV Spectroscopic Ellipsometry and X-Ray Reflectance Combined on the same Platform for the Characterization of High-k Gate Dielectrics

VUV spectroscopic ellipsometry down to 135nm is applied to the characterization of HfO2, Al2O3 and HfAlOx thin layers prepared by atomic layer chemical vapor deposition. It is shown that the absorption of the different kinds of layers becomes important in the VUV range. So, the optical contrast is enhanced and more precise structural information can be deduced and in particular the composition and crystalline character of the HfAlOx layers. Results are compared to those provided by other experimental techniques like x-ray reflection (XRR) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM).

Vacuum UV Spectroscopic Ellipsometry and X-Ray Reflectance Combined on the same Platform for the Characterization of High-k Gate Dielectrics

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Three Dimensional Compositional Characterization of High-K Gate Dielectrics with LEAP Atom Probe Microscopy

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An Efficient Model for Accurate Capacitance-Voltage Characterization of High-k Gate Dielectrics Using a Mercury Probe

An analytic electrical model for accurate capacitance-voltage (C-V) characterization of high-k gate dielectrics using a mercury probe is presented. This approach considers the series association of the dielectric/substrate impedance, the circuit series resistance, and an additional impedance modeling the interfacial layer between the oxide and the mercury-drop contact. This model is useful to describe the frequency behavior of C-V measurements in a wide range of frequencies (500 Hz to 100 kHz). The extraction procedure of model parameters is described and the method is successfully applied to high-k HfO 2 layers deposited on silicon with equivalent oxide thickness down to 1.2 nm.