Frequency dispersion reduction and bond conversion on n-type GaAs by in situ surface oxide removal and passivation

The method of surface preparation on n-type GaAs, even with the presence of an amorphous-Si interfacial passivation layer, is shown to be a critical step in the removal of accumulation capacitance frequency dispersion. In situ deposition and analysis techniques were used to study different surface preparations, including NH4OH, Si-flux, and atomic hydrogen exposures, as well as Si passivation depositions prior to in situ atomic layer deposition of Al2O3. As–O bonding was removed and a bond conversion process with Si deposition is observed. The accumulation capacitance frequency dispersion was removed only when a Si interlayer and a specific surface clean were combined

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

Phosphorus oxide gate dielectric for black phosphorus field effect transistors

The environmental stability of the layered semiconductor black phosphorus (bP) remains a challenge. Passivation of the bP surface with phosphorus oxide, POx, grown by a reactive ion etch with oxygen plasma is known to improve photoluminescence efficiency of exfoliated bP flakes. We apply phosphorus oxide passivation in the fabrication of bP field effect transistors using a gate stack consisting of a POx layer grown by reactive ion etching followed by atomic layer deposition of Al2O3. We observe room temperature top-gate mobilities of 115 cm2/Vs in ambient conditions, which we attribute to the low defect density of the bP/POx interface

Radiation tolerant silicon nitride insulated gate field effect transistors

Metal-Insulated-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor /MISFET/ device uses a silicon nitride passivation layer over a thin silicon oxide layer to enhance the radiation tolerance. It is useful in electronic systems exposed to space radiation environment or the effects of nuclear weapons

An electrochemical investigation of the formation of CoSx and its effect on the anodic dissolution of iron in ammoniacal-carbonate solutions

It has been found that the co-presence of cobalt (II) and thiosulphate ions in ammoniacal-carbonate solutions promotes the passivation of iron, under conditions in which it would otherwise continue to dissolve anodically. Electrochemical experiments have shown a relationship between the immersion time required for passivation and the formation of a solid species on the iron surface, which is thought to be implicated in the mechanism of passivation, whilst not being itself the protective species. Based on a combination of electrochemical, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) characterisation techniques, the said species has been identified as CoSx, resulting from the interaction of cobalt (II) and thiosulphate ions. It is thought to form as a product of the cathodic reactions taking place on the iron surface during its active dissolution. These findings are particularly relevant to the Caron process, in which the ammoniacal-carbonate solutions containing dissolved cobalt and thiosulphate ions are used to leach nickel and cobalt from pre-reduced laterite ores rich in metallic iron. Both the loss of cobalt into the CoSx layer and the passivation of iron and of its alloys with nickel and cobalt, are potential contributing factors to the low cobalt and nickel recoveries, which are typical of the Caron process. This study provides a better understanding of the conditions under which the CoSx layer forms and promotes the passivation of iron, and may therefore provide useful information to help minimise the effect this may have on the extraction efficiency of the process. In particular, at the cobalt and thiosulphate ion concentrations usually encountered at a Caron plant, the passivation of iron was found to be prevented by maintaining a high enough concentration of ammonia

Structure for implementation of back-illuminated CMOS or CCD imagers

A structure for implementation of back-illuminated CMOS or CCD imagers. An epitaxial silicon layer is connected with a passivation layer, acting as a junction anode. The epitaxial silicon layer converts light passing through the passivation layer and collected by the imaging structure to photoelectrons. A semiconductor well is also provided, located opposite the passivation layer with respect to the epitaxial silicon layer, acting as a junction cathode. Prior to detection, light does not pass through a dielectric separating interconnection metal layers

Sub-2 cm/s passivation of silicon surfaces by aprotic solutions

Minimizing recombination at semiconductor surfaces is required for the accurate determination of the bulk carrier lifetime. Proton donors, such as hydrofluoric acid and superacids, are well known to provide highly effective short-term surface passivation. We demonstrate here that aprotic solutions based on bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)methane (TFSM) in hexane or pentane can also result in excellent passivation of (100)-orientation silicon surfaces. We show that the optimized TFSM-pentane passivation scheme can measure effective lifetimes up to 20 ms, with a surface recombination velocity of 1.7 cm s1 at an excess carrier density of 1015 cm3 . Fitting injection-dependent lifetime curves requires chemical passivation and field effect passivation from a negatively charged layer with a charge density of 1010–1011 q cm2 . The slightly higher recombination velocity of 2.3 cm s1 measured with TFSM-hexane can be explained by a lower charge density in the passivating layer, suggesting that the steric hindrance associated with the solvent size could play a role in the passivation mechanism. Finally, phosphorus nuclear magnetic resonance experiments confirm that TFSM-based solutions have Lewis acidity without being superacids, which opens up opportunities for them to be used in materials systems sensitive to superacidic environments