AVS 49th International Symposium
    Applied Surface Science Wednesday Sessions
       Session AS-WeA

Paper AS-WeA2
Sputtering Artifacts in Depth Profile Analysis of HfO@sub 2@ and HfSi@sub x@O@sub y@

Wednesday, November 6, 2002, 2:20 pm, Room C-106

Session: High-k Dielectric Characterization
Presenter: C.F.H. Gondran, International SEMATECH
Authors: C.F.H. Gondran, International SEMATECH
J.A. Bennett, International SEMATECH
M.R. Beebe, International SEMATECH
Correspondent: Click to Email
As electrical device sizes continue to shrink, thinner transistor gate oxides are required. Soon the required gate oxide thickness will be too thin to be obtained using SiO@sub 2@. Thicker gate oxides can be used to obtain the desired equivalent silicon dioxide thickness if the material used has a higher dielectric constant. HfO@sub 2@, ZrO@sub 2@ and their silicates are among the most promising candidates for alternative high-dielectric-constant gate materials. With these new materials, come a host of new challenges for both device processing and materials characterization. Preferential sputtering and other affects seen in the Auger and SIMS depth profiles of HfO@sub 2@ and HfSi@sub x@O@sub y@ result in the appearance of Hf deep into the Si Substrate. In mixed oxides the relative size of this artifact varies with the composition posing a challenge for quantitative analysis. The sputtering artifacts in HfO@sub 2@ and HfSi@sub x@O@sub y@ are characterized and practical approaches for analysis are discussed.