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InAs-oxide interface composition and stability upon thermal oxidation and high-k atomic layer deposition

Troian, Andrea LU ; Knutsson, Johan V. LU ; McKibbin, Sarah R. LU orcid ; Yngman, Sofie LU ; Babadi, Aein S. LU ; Wernersson, Lars Erik LU ; Mikkelsen, Anders LU and Timm, Rainer LU orcid (2018) In AIP Advances 8(12).
Abstract

Defects at the interface between InAs and a native or high permittivity oxide layer are one of the main challenges for realizing III-V semiconductor based metal oxide semiconductor structures with superior device performance. Here we passivate the InAs(100) substrate by removing the native oxide via annealing in ultra-high vacuum (UHV) under a flux of atomic hydrogen and growing a stoichiometry controlled oxide (thermal oxide) in UHV, prior to atomic layer deposition (ALD) of an Al2O3 high-k layer. The semiconductor-oxide interfacial stoichiometry and surface morphology are investigated by synchrotron based X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, and low energy electron diffraction. After... (More)

Defects at the interface between InAs and a native or high permittivity oxide layer are one of the main challenges for realizing III-V semiconductor based metal oxide semiconductor structures with superior device performance. Here we passivate the InAs(100) substrate by removing the native oxide via annealing in ultra-high vacuum (UHV) under a flux of atomic hydrogen and growing a stoichiometry controlled oxide (thermal oxide) in UHV, prior to atomic layer deposition (ALD) of an Al2O3 high-k layer. The semiconductor-oxide interfacial stoichiometry and surface morphology are investigated by synchrotron based X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, and low energy electron diffraction. After thermal oxide growth, we find a thin non-crystalline layer with a flat surface structure. Importantly, the InAs-oxide interface shows a significantly decreased amount of In3+, As5+, and As0 components, which can be correlated to electrically detrimental defects. Capacitance-voltage measurements confirm a decrease of the interface trap density in gate stacks including the thermal oxide as compared to reference samples. This makes the concept of a thermal oxide layer prior to ALD promising for improving device performance if this thermal oxide layer can be stabilized upon exposure to ambient air.

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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
AIP Advances
volume
8
issue
12
article number
125227
publisher
American Institute of Physics (AIP)
external identifiers
  • scopus:85059606297
ISSN
2158-3226
DOI
10.1063/1.5054292
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b3aafe42-6a43-4228-a11c-836a62f3bc98
date added to LUP
2019-01-23 12:47:09
date last changed
2025-04-04 15:18:39
@article{b3aafe42-6a43-4228-a11c-836a62f3bc98,
  abstract     = {{<p>Defects at the interface between InAs and a native or high permittivity oxide layer are one of the main challenges for realizing III-V semiconductor based metal oxide semiconductor structures with superior device performance. Here we passivate the InAs(100) substrate by removing the native oxide via annealing in ultra-high vacuum (UHV) under a flux of atomic hydrogen and growing a stoichiometry controlled oxide (thermal oxide) in UHV, prior to atomic layer deposition (ALD) of an Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> high-k layer. The semiconductor-oxide interfacial stoichiometry and surface morphology are investigated by synchrotron based X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, and low energy electron diffraction. After thermal oxide growth, we find a thin non-crystalline layer with a flat surface structure. Importantly, the InAs-oxide interface shows a significantly decreased amount of In<sup>3+</sup>, As<sup>5+</sup>, and As<sup>0</sup> components, which can be correlated to electrically detrimental defects. Capacitance-voltage measurements confirm a decrease of the interface trap density in gate stacks including the thermal oxide as compared to reference samples. This makes the concept of a thermal oxide layer prior to ALD promising for improving device performance if this thermal oxide layer can be stabilized upon exposure to ambient air.</p>}},
  author       = {{Troian, Andrea and Knutsson, Johan V. and McKibbin, Sarah R. and Yngman, Sofie and Babadi, Aein S. and Wernersson, Lars Erik and Mikkelsen, Anders and Timm, Rainer}},
  issn         = {{2158-3226}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{12}},
  number       = {{12}},
  publisher    = {{American Institute of Physics (AIP)}},
  series       = {{AIP Advances}},
  title        = {{InAs-oxide interface composition and stability upon thermal oxidation and high-k atomic layer deposition}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.5054292}},
  doi          = {{10.1063/1.5054292}},
  volume       = {{8}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}