Electrical Properties of Ultra Thin Nitride/Oxynitride Stack Dielectrics pMOS Capacitor with Refractory Metal Gate

Electrical properties of high quality ultra thin nitride/oxynitride(N/O)stack dielectrics pMOS capacitor with refractory metal gate electrode are investigated,and ultra thin (<2 nm) N/O stack gate dielectrics with significant low leakage current and high resistance to boron penetration are fabricated.Experiment results show that the stack gate dielectric of nitride/oxynitride combined with improved sputtered tungsten/titanium nitride (W/TiN) gate electrode is one of the candidates for deep sub-micron metal gate CMOS devices.

A High Performance Sub-100nm Nitride/Oxynitride Stack Gate Dielectric CMOS Device with Refractory W/TiN Metal Gates

By complementing the equivalent oxide thickness （EOT） of a 1.7nm nitride/oxynitride （N/O） stack gate dielectric （EOT- 1.7nm） with a W/TiN metal gate electrode,metal gate CMOS devices with sub-100nm gate length are fabricated in China for the first time. The key technologies adopted to restrain SCE and to improve drive ability include a 1.7nm N/O stack gate dielectric, non-CMP planarization technology, a T-type refractory W/TiN metal stack gate electrode, and a novel super steep retrograde channel doping using heavy ion implantation and a double sidewall scheme. Using these optimized key technologies, high performance 95nm metal gate CMOS devices with excellent SCE and good driving ability are fabricated. Under power supply voltages of VDS ± 1.5V and VGS± 1.8V,drive currents of 679μA/μm for nMOS and - 327μA/μm for pMOS are obtained. A subthreshold slope of 84.46mV/dec, DIBL of 34.76mV/V, and Vth of 0.26V for nMOS, and a subthreshold slope of 107.4mV/dec,DIBL of 54.46mV/V, and Vth of 0.27V for pMOS are achieved. These results show that the combined technology has indeed thoroughly eliminated the boron penetration phenomenon and polysilicon depletion effect ,effectively reduced gate tunneling leakage, and improved device reliability.

Dielectric polymer based electrolytes for high-performance all-solid-state lithium metal batteries

Solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) are urgently required for achieving practical all-solid-state lithium metal batteries (ASSLMBs) but remain plagued by low ionic conductivity.Herein,we propose a strategy of salt polarization to fabricate a highly ion-conductive SPE by employing a high-dielectric polymer that can interact strongly with lithium salts.Such a polymer with large dipole moments can guide lithium cations (Li^(+)) to be arranged along the chain,forming a continuous pathway for Li^(+) hopping within the SPE.The as-fabricated SPE,poly(vinylidene difluoride)(PVDF)-LiN(SO_(2)F)_(2)(LiFSI),has an extraordinarily high dielectric constant (up to 10^(8)) and ultrahigh ionic conductivity (0.77×10^(-3)S cm^(-1)).Based on the PVDF–LiFSI SPE,the assembled Li metal symmetrical cell shows excellent Li plating/stripping reversibility at 0.1 m A cm^(-2),0.1 m Ah cm^(-2)over 1500 h^(-1) the ASS LiFePO_(4) batteries deliver long-term cycling stability at 1 C over 350 cycles (2.74 mg cm^(-2)) and an ultralong cycling lifespan of over 2600 h(100 cycles) with high loading (11.5 mg cm^(-2)) at 28°C.First-principles calculations further reveal the ion-dipole interactions-controlled conduction of Li^(+) in PVDF–LiFSI SPE along the PVDF chain.This work highlights the critical role of dielectric permittivity in SPE,and provides a promising path towards high-energy,long-cycling lifespan ASSLMBs.

Identification of the Intrinsic Dielectric Properties of Metal Single Atoms for Electromagnetic Wave Absorption

Atomically dispersed metals on N-doped carbon supports(M-N_(xCs)) have great potential applications in various fields.However,a precise understanding of the definitive relationship between the configuration of metal single atoms and the dielectric loss properties of M-N_(xCs) at the atomic-level is still lacking.Herein,we report a general approach to synthesize a series of three-dimensional(3D)honeycomb-like M-N_xC(M=Mn,Fe,Co,Cu,or Ni) containing metal single atoms.Experimental results indicate that 3D M-N_(xCs) exhibit a greatly enhanced dielectric loss compared with that of the NC matrix.Theoretical calculations demonstrate that the density of states of the d orbitals near the Fermi level is significantly increased and additional electrical dipoles are induced due to the destruction of the symmetry of the local microstructure,which enhances conductive loss and dipolar polarization loss of 3D M-N_(xCs),respectively.Consequently,these 3D M-N_(xCs) exhibit excellent electromagnetic wave absorption properties,outperforming the most commonly reported absorbers.This study systematically explains the mechanism of dielectric loss at the atomic level for the first time and is of significance to the rational design of high-efficiency electromagnetic wave absorbing materials containing metal single atoms.

A transparent electromagnetic-shielding film based on one-dimensional metal–dielectric periodic structures

In this study, we designed and fabricated optical materials consisting of alternating ITO and Ag layers. This approach is considered to be a promising way to obtain a light-weight, ultrathin and transparent shielding medium, which not only transmits visible light but also inhibits the transmission of microwaves, despite the fact that the total thickness of the Ag film is much larger than the skin depth in the visible range and less than that in the microwave region. Theoretical results suggest that a high dielectric/metal thickness ratio can enhance the broadband and improve the transmittance in the optical range. Accordingly, the central wavelength was found to be red-shifted with increasing dielectric/metal thickness ratio. A physical mechanism behind the controlling transmission of visible light is also proposed. Meanwhile, the electromagnetic shielding effectiveness of the prepared structures was found to exceed 40 dB in the range from 0.1 GHz to 18 GHz, even reaching up to 70 dB at 0.1 GHz, which is far higher than that of a single ITO film of the same thickness.

Challenges in Atomic-Scale Characterization of High-k Dielectrics and Metal Gate Electrodes for Advanced CMOS Gate Stacks

The decreasing feature sizes in complementary metal-oxide semiconductor （CMOS） transistor technology will require the replacement of SiO2 with gate dielectrics that have a high dielectric constant （high-k） because as the SiO2 gate thickness is reduced below 1.4 nm, electron tunnelling effects and high leakage currents occur in SiO2, which present serious obstacles to future device reliability. In recent years significant progress has been made on the screening and selection of high-k gate dielectrics, understanding their physical properties, and their integration into CMOS technology. Now the family of hafnium oxide-based materials has emerged as the leading candidate for high-k gate dielectrics due to their excellent physical properties. It is also realized that the high-k oxides must be implemented in conjunction with metal gate electrodes to get sufficient potential for CMOS continue scaling. In the advanced nanoscale Si-based CMOS devices, the composition and thickness of interfacial layers in the gate stacks determine the critical performance of devices. Therefore, detailed atomic- scale understandings of the microstructures and interfacial structures built in the advanced CMOS gate stacks, are highly required. In this paper, several high-resolution electron, ion, and photon-based techniques currently used to characterize the high-k gate dielectrics and interfaces at atomic-scale, are reviewed. Particularly, we critically review the research progress on the characterization of interface behavior and structural evolution in the high-k gate dielectrics by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy （HRTEM） and the related techniques based on scanning transmission electron microscopy （STEM）, including high-angle annular dark- field （HAADF） imaging （also known as Z-contrast imaging）, electron energy-loss spectroscopy （EELS）, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy （EDS）, due to that HRTEM and STEM have become essential metrology tools for characterizing the dielectric gate stacks in the present and future generations of CMOS devices. In Section 1 of this review, the working principles of each technique are briefly introduced and their key features are outlined. In Section 2, microstructural characterizations of high-k gate dielectrics at atomic-scale by electron microscopy are critically reviewed by citing some recent results reported on high-k gate dielectrics. In Section 3, metal gate electrodes and the interfacial structures between high-k dielectrics and metal gates are discussed. The electron beam damage effects in high-k gate stacks are also evaluated, and their origins and prevention are described in Section 4. Finally, we end this review with personal perspectives towards the future challenges of atomic-scale material characterization in advanced CMOS gate stacks.

Comparative Study of the One Dimensional Dielectric and Metallic Photonic Crystals

The optical transmission properties of two types of photonic crystals have been analyzed by using the transfer matrix method. The first one is the dielectric photonic crystal (DPC), and the second is the metallic photonic crystal (MPC). We found the dielectric and metallic photonic crystals have different transmission spectra. The effect of the most prameters on the transmission spectra of the dielectric and metallic photonic crystals has been studied.

Solar-blind ultraviolet band-pass filter based on metal–dielectric multilayer structures

Solar-blind ultraviolet （UV） band-pass filter has significant value in many scientific, commercial, and military appli- cations, in which the detection of weak UV signal against a strong background of solar radiation is required. In this work, a solar-blind filter is designed based on the concept of ＂transparent metal＂. The filter consisting of Al/SiO2 multilayers could exhibit a high transmission in the solar-blind wavelength region and a wide stopband extending from near-ultraviolet to infrared wavelength range. The central wavelength, bandwidth, Q factor, and rejection ratio of the passband are numerically studied as a function of individual layer thickness and multilayer period.

ANALYSIS OF DISPERSION CHARACTERISTICS FOR A CIRCULAR DIELECTRIC WAVEGUIDE WITH PERIODIC METALLIC STRIPS

The dispersion characteristics of a circular dielectric waveguide with periodic metal-lic strips are analyzed by the Galerkin’s method.After obtaining the rigorous dispersion equation,the dispersion curves for both TE01and TM01modes are calculated by the improved Newton’smethod.The variations of the normalized center frequency,width and maximum attenuation con-stant of the stopband with the normalized width of the metallic strips are given.The convergenceproperties of numerical solutions are also discussed.On the basis of the analysis,some usefulguidelines for filter design are thereby suggested.

Coupled edge plasmon modes of metal/dielectric multi-wedges

We present a metallic/dielectric multi-wedge model to investigate the coupled edge plasmon modes （CEPMs）, where all wedges have a common edge and the wave propagates along the edge direction. A general theoretical method valid to many practical structures is presented. The analytical dispersion relations of CEPMs in these structures are obtained and the CEPM properties are discussed with numerical results and the dispersion relations. For all structures mentioned in this paper, we find that the structures containing an even number of metallic wedges have four CEPMs and those with an odd-number of metallic wedges have two CEPMs. Further, the periodic structures containing any odd number of periods and any even number of periods possess their common CEPMs, respectively.

Controlling optical responses through local dielectric resonance in nanometre metallic clusters

Optical responses in dilute composites are controlled through the local dielectric resonance of metallic clusters. We consider two located metallic clusters close to each other with admittances ε1 and ε2. Through varying the difference admittance ratio η[= （ε2 - ε0）/（ε1 - ε0）], we find that their optical responses are determined by the local resonance. There is a blueshift of absorption peaks with the increase of η- Simultaneously, it is known that the absorption peaks will be redshifted by enlarging the cluster size. By adjusting the nano-metallic cluster geometry, size and admittances, we can control the positions and intensities of absorption peaks effectively. We have also deduced the effective linear optical responses of three-component composites εe=ε0 （1＋∑^n n=1[（γn1＋ηγn2）/（ε0（s-sn））]） and the sum rule of cross sections：∑^n n=1（γn1＋ηγn2）=Nh1＋Nh2,, where Nh1and Nh2 are the numbers of εl and ε2 bonds along the electric field, respectively. These results may be beneficial to the study of surface plasmon resonances on a nanometre scale.

Influence of multi-deposition multi-annealing on time-dependent dielectric breakdown characteristics of PMOS with high-k/metal gate last process

A multi-deposition multi-annealing technique （MDMA） is introduced into the process of high-k/metal gate MOSFET for the gate last process to effectively reduce the gate leakage and improve the device＇s performance. In this paper, we systematically investigate the electrical parameters and the time-dependent dielectric breakdown （TDDB） characteristics of positive channel metal oxide semiconductor （PMOS） under different MDMA process conditions, including the depo- sition/annealing （D＆A） cycles, the D＆A time, and the total annealing time. The results show that the increases of the number of D＆A cycles （from 1 to 2） and D＆A time （from 15 s to 30 s） can contribute to the results that the gate leakage current decreases by about one order of magnitude and that the time to fail （TTF） at 63.2% increases by about several times. However, too many D＆A cycles （such as 4 cycles） make the equivalent oxide thickness （EOT） increase by about 1A and the TTF of PMOS worsen. Moreover, different D＆A times and numbers of D＆A cycles induce different breakdown mechanisms.

Hydrogenic donor impurity states and intersubband optical absorption spectra of monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides in dielectric environments

The hydrogenic donor impurity states and intersubband optical absorption spectra in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides(ML TMDs) under dielectric environments are theoretically investigated based on a two-dimensional(2D)nonorthogonal associated Laguerre basis set. The 2D quantum confinement effect together with the strongly reduced dielectric screening results in the strong attractive Coulomb potential between electron and donor ion, with exceptionally large impurity binding energy and huge intersubband oscillator strength. These lead to the strong interaction of the electron with light in a 2D regime. The intersubband optical absorption spectra exhibit strong absorption lines of the non-hydrogenic Rydberg series in the mid-infrared range of light. The strength of the Coulomb potential can be controlled by changing the dielectric environment. The electron affinity difference leads to charge transfer between ML TMD and the dielectric environment, generating the polarization-electric field in ML TMD accompanied by weakening the Coulomb interaction strength. The larger the dielectric constant of the dielectric environment, the more the charge transfer is, accompanied by the larger polarization-electric field and the stronger dielectric screening. The dielectric environment is shown to provide an efficient tool to tune the wavelength and output of the mid-infrared intersubband devices based on ML TMDs.

Effects of heavy metal on dielectric properties of E. coli revealed by dielectric spectroscopy

Dielectric spectroscopy of E. coli cell before and after exposure to heavy metals Cd^2＋ , Cu^2＋ , Zn^2＋ and Ca^2＋ was investigated. The results indicate that changes in dielectric spectra reflect effects of heavy metal on the structure and function of E. coli cells. Heavy metal can change membrane capacitance as well as pennittivity and conductivity of the cytoplasm. Changes in volume fraction suggested that dielectric measurement could monitor the growth of E. coli cells. These results demonstrated that dielectric spectroscopy was a potential effective technique for studying electric properties of biological cells.

Analysis and Investigation of Slow Light Based on Plasmonic Induced Transparency in Metal-Dielectric-Metal Ring Resonator in a Waveguide System with Different Geometrical Designs

In this paper we will try to create, propose and analyze structure of a slow light device, based on plasmonic induced transparency in a metal-dielectric-metal based ring resonator. Group index by first design about 37 and second design about 35 earned. The proposed dielectric material is Poly Methyl Meta Acrylate (PMMA) sandwiched by gold metal cladding. Finite Element Method-con- ducted Electromagnetic simulations are employed to evaluate the plasmonic designs for behavior of slow light. The signal and pump wavelength are assumed to be 830 nm and 1550 nm respectively in the systems. The overall length of the plasmonic slow light system is 600 nm. In a wide range of frequency bands, the optical properties of metals can be described with a plasma model. The optical signal can be achieved with the use of surface waves on the boundary between the insulating materials and metals with dimensions smaller than the diffraction limit. The main goal, is estimation of optical characteristics such as bandwidth, the Real and Imaginary parts of refractive index, group velocity and slow down factor in such optical devices. The obtained results and observations, can be useful in basic research and the production of highly integrated plasmonic devices.

Existing conditions of full bandgaps and absolute negative refraction in metallic-dielectric photonic crystal

This paper has theoretically studied the characteristic frequencies of band structures in two-dimensional metallic- dielectric photonic crystals. It is demonstrated that a large filling fraction benefits the existence of absolute photonic band gap, while a smaller filling fraction benefits an absolute negative refraction band. In addition, it also finds that the relation between the cut-off frequency of E-polarized wave and the filling fraction exceeding 10% is content with a linear increasing function, whose coefficients are exponential to the normalized lattice constant. These investigations have significant implications for tuning the operational frequencies to desired applications and manufacturing photonic crystals.

Anisotropy Characteristics of Magnetostatic Surface Wave Propagating in YIG/Dielectric/Metal Layered Structure

The anisotropy of magnetostatic surface wave （MSSW） propagating in finite width YIG /dielectric/metal layered structure is analyzed. This problem is solved by finding the rigorous solution of each layer from Maxwell equation and the appropriate transmission Green＇s function matrix G. From the relationship of Green＇s function matrixes of dielectric layer and ferrite layer, the dispersion equation is obtained. The MSSW filter is designed to verify the dispersion characteristics. The experiment results are in good agreement with the calculating data from the model.

New Method of Thermal Energy—To Electrical Energy Conversion in Vacuum Devices with the Metal—Dielectric Nanofilm Electron Sources

New method of thermal energy—to electrical energy conversion in vacuum devices with the metal (W)—dielectric nanofilm (ZrO2) electron source is offered and studied. According to estimates and results of modeling, the energy effectiveness (χ) of the proposed method may exceed χ for the known thermionic energy conversion method to 2 - 3 orders of magnitude.

HfO_2 Gate Dielectrics for Future Generation of CMOS Device Application

The material and electrical properties of HfO 2 hi gh-k gate dielectric are reported.In the first part,the band alignment of H fO 2 and (HfO 2) x(Al 2O 3) 1-x to (100)Si substrate and thei r thermal stability are studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and TEM.The energy gap of (HfO 2) x(Al 2O 3) 1-x,the valence band offset, and the conduction band offset between (HfO 2) x(Al 2O 3) 1-x and the Si substrate as functions of x are obtained based on the XPS results .Our XPS results also demonstrate that both the thermal stability and the resist ance to oxygen diffusion of HfO 2 are improved by adding Al to form Hf aluminat es.In the second part,a thermally stable and high quality HfN/HfO 2 gate stack is reported.Negligible changes in equivalent oxide thickness (EOT),gate leakage, and work function (close to Si mid-gap) of HfN/HfO 2 gate stack are demonstrat ed even after 1000℃ post-metal annealing(PMA),which is attributed to the super ior oxygen diffusion barrier of HfN as well as the thermal stability of the HfN/ HfO 2 interface.Therefore,even without surface nitridation prior to HfO 2 depo sition,the EOT of HfN/HfO 2 gate stack has been successfully scaled down to les s than 1nm after 1000℃ PMA with excellent leakage and long-term reliability.T he last part demonstrates a novel replacement gate process employing a HfN dummy gate and sub-1nm EOT HfO 2 gate dielectric.The excellent thermal stability of the HfN/HfO 2 gate stack enables its use in high temperature CMOS processes.Th e replacement of HfN with other metal gate materials with work functions adequat e for n- and p-MOS is facilitated by a high etch selectivity of HfN with respe ct to HfO 2,without any degradation to the EOT,gate leakage,or TDDB characteris tics of HfO 2.