Al2O3 Layers Grown by Atomic Layer Deposition as Gate Insulator in 3C-SiC MOS Devices
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
3. Discussion
4. Conclusions
- A thin (5 nm) SiO2 IL between the Al2O3 and the 3C-SiC is useful to ensure the quality of ALD growth and to maximize the insulator/semiconductor band offset;
- The Al2O3 is a valid alternative to the conventional thermally grown single SiO2 as gate insulator for 3C-SiC MOS-based devices. In fact, the Al2O3 layers showed a high permittivity (~8), which produced a significant reduction in the negative flat band voltage shift that is usually observed with SiO2;
- A different electrical behavior was found between thermal- and plasma-enhanced Al2O3 both by investigations on macroscopic MOS capacitors and at the nanoscale using SCM analysis. In fact, although both systems ensure an electrical breakdown over 26 V, the T-Al2O3/SiO2/3C-SiC stack exhibits early leakage phenomena already from 15 V. Moreover, the T-Al2O3/SiO2/3C-SiC is characterised by a non-uniform SCM map compared to the PE-Al2O3/SiO2/3C-SiC. This difference can be correlated to a different Al2O3 quality obtained through the two different oxidation processes (T- or PE-), resulting in an inhomogeneous charge trapping behavior and permittivity.
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
ALD | Atomic Layer Deposition |
T-ALD | Thermal-ALD |
PE-ALD | Plasma Enanched-ALD |
NIOTs | Near Interface Oxide Traps |
MOSFET | Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor |
MOS | Metal Oxide Semiconductor |
IL | Interlayer |
High-κ | High permittivity (κ) dielectrics |
TEM | Transmission Electron Microscopy |
AFM | Atomic Force Microscopy |
SCM | Scanning Capacitance Microscopy |
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Schilirò, E.; Fiorenza, P.; Lo Nigro, R.; Galizia, B.; Greco, G.; Di Franco, S.; Bongiorno, C.; La Via, F.; Giannazzo, F.; Roccaforte, F. Al2O3 Layers Grown by Atomic Layer Deposition as Gate Insulator in 3C-SiC MOS Devices. Materials 2023, 16, 5638. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16165638
Schilirò E, Fiorenza P, Lo Nigro R, Galizia B, Greco G, Di Franco S, Bongiorno C, La Via F, Giannazzo F, Roccaforte F. Al2O3 Layers Grown by Atomic Layer Deposition as Gate Insulator in 3C-SiC MOS Devices. Materials. 2023; 16(16):5638. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16165638
Chicago/Turabian StyleSchilirò, Emanuela, Patrick Fiorenza, Raffaella Lo Nigro, Bruno Galizia, Giuseppe Greco, Salvatore Di Franco, Corrado Bongiorno, Francesco La Via, Filippo Giannazzo, and Fabrizio Roccaforte. 2023. "Al2O3 Layers Grown by Atomic Layer Deposition as Gate Insulator in 3C-SiC MOS Devices" Materials 16, no. 16: 5638. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16165638