Breakdown and recovery of thin gate oxides

Breakdown events are studied in varying test set-ups with a high time resolution. Often a partial recovery from breakdown is observed\ud within a few ms. Parameters such as device area, stress conditions and parasitic elements prohibit the recovery if they result in a high system impedance. The results suggest the existence of a highly conductive path that can be annihilated during breakdown

Growth Mechanism of a Hybrid Structure Consisting of a Graphite Layer on Top of Vertical Carbon Nanotubes

Graphene and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are both carbon-based materials with remarkable optical and electronic properties which, among others, may find applications as transparent electrodes or as interconnects in microchips, respectively. This work reports on the formation of a hybrid structure composed of a graphitic carbon layer on top of vertical CNT in a single deposition process. The mechanism of deposition is explained according to the thickness of catalyst used and the atypical growth conditions. Key factors dictating the hybrid growth are the film thickness and the time dynamic through which the catalyst film dewets and transforms into nanoparticles. The results support the similarities between chemical vapor deposition processes for graphene, graphite, and CNT

Structural and Electrical Properties of HfO2/n-InxGa1-xAs structures (x: 0, 0.15, 0.3 and 0.53)

7th International Symposium on High Dielectric Constant Materials and Gate Stacks - 216th Meeting of the Electrochemical Society; Vienna; Austria; 5 October 2009 through 7 October 2009; Code 79118In this work results are presented of an investigation into the structural and electrical properties of HfO2 films on GaAs and InxGa1-xAs substrates for x: 0.15, 0.30, and 0.53. The capacitancevoltage responses of the GaAs and InxGa1-xAs (x: 0.15 and 0.30) are dominated by an interface defect response. Analysis of these samples at 77K indicates that the defect density is > 2.5x1013 cm-2. For the HfO2/In0.53Ga0.47As system, 77K capacitance-voltage responses indicate surface accumulation is achieved. The results are consistent with a high defect density, with an energy level {greater than or equal to}0.75 eV above the valence band in the HfO2/InxGa1-xAs system, where the defect energy with respect to the valence band, does not change with the composition of the InxGa1-xAs. The HfO2/In0.53Ga0.47As interface exhibits two defects at 0.3eV (1.7x1013cm-2eV) and 0.61eV (1.5x1013cm-2eV) above the valance band edge. The defect at 0.61eV is removed by forming gas annealing at 325oC

Comparing GaAs and In0.15Ga0.85As as channel material for alternative substrate CMOS

Photoluminescence intensity (PLI) measurements of GaAs and InGaAs thin films indicate that InGaAs might be inherently easier to passivate than GaAs. The introduction of just 15% of In leads to a reduction of the surface recombination velocity at native oxide interfaces by an order of magnitude. This is more than the effect expected by a reduced bandgap alone. The PLI method applied to thin films can also be used to determine the surface recombination velocity of other IIIV-oxide interfaces.status: publishe

GaAs on Ge for CMOS

Selective epitaxial growth of GaAs on Ge is a prerequisite for the integration of GaAs and Ge in the sub-22 nm CMOS nodes. The problems encountered for epitaxial growth of GaAs on Ge are described and illustrated. Mainly the problem of anti-phase boundary (APB) formation is addressed. Selective epitaxial growth of GaAs on Ge with a SiO2 mask is discussed and selectively grown layers are characterized by X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, defect etching and photoluminescence spectroscopy. An optimized growth procedure is presented, which simultaneously reduces loading effects and APB creation. Low temperature photoluminescence measurements show the good quality of the selectively grown GaAs on Ge. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.status: publishe

Evolution of (001) and (111) facets for selective epitaxial growth inside submicron trenches

The evolution of (001) and (111) facets for the epitaxial growth inside submicron trenches is systematically studied in this report. The analysis with the method of “Lagrange multiplier” indicates the equilibrium crystal shape. In the case of non-equilibrium without external fluxes, we employed the “weighted mean curvature” method to mathematically model the inter-facet migration rate for two extreme kinetic cases: “surface diffusion limited” and “surface attachment/detachment limited.” Coupled with external supply of atoms, the self-limited behavior of facet size is theoretically predicted. Moreover, we find that the self-limited stable facet size in trenches of different widths has a specific relationship determined by the surface energy ratio, kinetic rate ratio, and isolated growth rate difference. The two limited cases could be discriminated according to the mathematical fitting of one exponent in this relationship based on the stable facet size in trenches of different widths.status: publishe

Experimental and theoretical investigation of defects at (100) Si1-xGex/oxide interfaces

The identification of a nontrigonal Ge dangling bond at SiO2/Si1-xGex/SiO2 heterostructures and its electrical activity are discussed, both from experimental and theoretical points of view. This dangling bond is observed from multifrequency electron-spin resonance experiments performed at 4.2 K, for typical Ge concentrations in the range 0.4 = 0.85. The electrical activity of this defect is revealed from capacitance-voltage characteristics measured at 300 and 77 K, and is found to behave like an acceptor defect. First-principles calculations of the electronic properties of this Ge dangling bond indicate that its energy level approaches the valence band edge of the Si1-xGex layer as the Ge content increases, confirming its acceptor-like nature. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.status: publishe

Physical modeling of strain-dependent hole mobility in Ge p-channel inversion layers

We present comprehensive calculations of the low-field hole mobility in Ge p-channel inversion layers with SiO2 insulator using a six-band k.p band-structure model. The cases of relaxed, biaxially, and uniaxially (both tensily and compressively) strained Ge are studied employing an efficient self-consistent method-making use of a nonuniform spatial mesh and of the Broyden second method-to solve the coupled envelope-wave function k.p and Poisson equations. The hole mobility is computed using the Kubo-Greenwood formalism accounting for nonpolar hole-phonon scattering and scattering with interfacial roughness. Different approximations to handle dielectric screening are also investigated. As our main result, we find a large enhancement (up to a factor of 10 with respect to Si) of the mobility in the case of uniaxial compressive stress similarly to the well-known case of Si. Comparison with experimental data shows overall qualitative agreement but with significant deviations due mainly to the unknown morphology of the rough Ge-insulator interface, to additional scattering with surface optical phonon from the high-kappa insulator, to Coulomb scattering interface traps or oxide charges-ignored in our calculations-and to different channel structures employed. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3245327]status: publishe