AVS 53rd International Symposium
    Electronic Materials and Processing Thursday Sessions
       Session EM+AS-ThM

Paper EM+AS-ThM1
A Study of High Dielectric Constant Magnesium Oxide Film Interfaces with Si

Thursday, November 16, 2006, 8:00 am, Room 2003

Session: High-k Dielectric Characterization
Presenter: L. Yan, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Authors: L. Yan, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
R.P. Shrestha, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
E.A. Irene, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
L. Zhong, Argonne National Lab
I. Kim, Argonne National Lab
O. Auciello, Argonne National Lab
Correspondent: Click to Email
In a recent report we have identified MgO as a potential high dielectric constant (@Kappa@) gate dielectric because of its chemical inertness enabling sharp interfaces and wide band-gap (7.3 eV) for large band offsets with silicon (Si) to minimize leakage. Our prior investigation of reactively sputtered MgO on Si revealed impressive interfacial electronic properties as compared with the conventional SiO@sub 2@/Si, in particular comparable interface trap densities (D@sub it@). The present study is aimed at a closer exploration of MgO thin films, prepared using two different oxidizing agents: molecular and atomic oxygen on reactively sputtered Mg. In situ XPS, Mass Spectrometry of Recoiled Ions (MSRI) and spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) were used to monitor the evolution of the interfaces with MgO. This, coupled with post-deposition, ex situ cross-sectional TEM, provided an accurate materials description of the MgO/Si interface. Electronic measurements, including capacitance versus voltage (C-V), conductance (G(@omega@)) versus gate voltage (G(@omega@)-V), and current flux versus electric field (J-E), were conducted on capacitor structures to determine @Kappa@, D@sub it@, and leakage current, respectively. Our results show that thin MgO films can provide a superior high-@Kappa@ dielectric for many electronic applications. This work is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Materials Research Division.