AVS 52nd International Symposium
    Electronic Materials and Processing Monday Sessions
       Session EM-MoM

Paper EM-MoM5
Self-organization of Thin Film Dielectrics and Their Interfaces in Gate Stacks for Advanced Si Devices

Monday, October 31, 2005, 9:40 am, Room 309

Session: Electronic Properties of High-k Dielectrics and their Interfaces
Presenter: G. Lucovsky, NC State University
Authors: G. Lucovsky, NC State University
J.C. Phillips, Rutgers University
Correspondent: Click to Email
Self-organizations which inhibit percolation of network bond-strain are addressed. These occur i) within multi-atom gate dielectrics, Si@sub 3@N@sub 4@:H and Si@sub 3@N@sub 4@-SiO@sub 2@-ZrO@sub 2@ alloys, ii) at Si-SiO@sub 2@ interfaces, and iii) at internal interfaces in multi-layer dielectrics. All are driven by the same mechanism, but the dimensionalities of the materials systems are different. The dielectric films are 3-dimensional, but interfaces are 2-dimensional. The self-organizations of Si@sub 3@N@sub 4@:H and Si@sub 3@N@sub 4@-SiO@sub 2@-ZrO@sub 2@ dielectrics arise from stressed-rigid bonding, and prevent percolation of bond-strain at processing temperatures greater than the deposition temperatures. For the Si@sub 3@N@sub 4@:H and Si@sub 3@N@sub 4@-SiO@sub 2@-ZrO@sub 2@ alloys, compositions are identified that prevent chemical phase separation, and subsequent degradation of device properties. At the Si-SiO@sub 2@ interface the self-organization is at a molecular scale in a layer ~0.3-0.5 nm thick. This self-organization relieves in-plane strain, and provides for the first time a quantitative understanding for roughness scattering of channel electrons/holes in field effect transistors. This self-organization has enabled the information science revolution to proceed by down-sizing of Si integrated circuits and making Moore's Law for performance, cost and increased functionality a reality. Finally, self-organization at SiO@sub 2@-high-k internal interface is enabling for continuing Moore's Law scaling with alternative high-k dielectrics such as HfO@sub 2@ and Al@sub 2@O@sub 3@.