AVS 58th Annual International Symposium and Exhibition
    Applied Surface Science Division Tuesday Sessions
       Session AS-TuP

Paper AS-TuP20
Effect of Annealing TiN/Al2O3 Nanofilms Grown on InGaAs

Tuesday, November 1, 2011, 6:00 pm, Room East Exhibit Hall

Session: Applied Surface Science Poster Session
Presenter: Oscar Ceballos-Sanchez, CINVESTAV-Unidad Queretaro, Mexico
Authors: O. Ceballos-Sanchez, CINVESTAV-Unidad Queretaro, Mexico
A. Sanchez-Martinez, CINVESTAV-Unidad Queretaro, Mexico
M.O. Vazquez-Lepe, CINVESTAV-Unidad Queretaro, Mexico
P. Lysaght, SEMATECH
A. Herrera-Gomez, CINVESTAV-Unidad Queretaro, Mexico
Correspondent: Click to Email
III-V compounds are candidates to replace Si as the semiconductor in complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) devices.1 The extensive research for over 40 years in the field of III-V semiconductors reflects the efforts that have been made to find new materials that meet the technological needs. InGaAs is one of the most promising compounds because of its high electron mobility and flexible bandgap as compared to Si.2 However, one difficulty associated to III-V semiconductors is the lack of high-quality and thermodynamically stable gate dielectric insulators that passivate the interface. Growing Al2O3, HfO2 and ZrO2 by atomic layer deposition (ALD) on InGaAs or III-V semiconductors have shown the removal of native oxide and the passivation of the high-k/III-V interface.3 However, the high temperatures (~850°C) required for the activation of some dopant in the device induce structural changes that degrade the properties of the interface.4 The appearance of oxides, defects or even the diffusion of atoms within the material are issues that primarily affects the device performance. The poor ultimate resolution achieved with some of the characterization techniques traditionally employed for the assessment of the chemical depth profile of thin films limits the quantitative analysis of the structure and composition of the films. In this work we present an analysis by angle-resolved x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (ARXPS) of TiN/Al2O3/InxGa1-xAs nanofilms with different thermal treatments (no-annealing, 500 °C for 2 min, and 700 °C for 10 s). The purpose of the study was to investigate possible reasons of the interface degradation. Through a self-consistent approach based on a multilayer model (MLM), a quantitative study was performed for the composition and thickness of the TiN/Al2O3/InGaAs nanofilms. The results clearly show that indium diffuses towards the metal layer as a consequence of heat treatments, suggesting a possible failure mechanism. [1] Han Zhao, Jeff Huang, Yen-Ting Chen, Jung Hwan Yum, Yanzhen Wang, Fei Zhou, Fei Xue, and Jack C. Lee, Appl. Phys. Lett. 95, 253501 (2009). [2] F. S. Aguirre-Tostado, M. Milojevic, C. L. Hinkle, E. M. Vogel, R. M. Wallace, S. McDonnell, and G. J. Hughes, Appl. Phys. Lett. 92, 171906 (2008). [3] Y. Xuan, H.C. Lin, and P.D. Ye, Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 263518 (2006). [4] Y. Xuan, P.D. Ye, and H.C. Lin, Appl. Phys. Lett. 89,132103 (2006).