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.

The influence and explanation of fringing-induced barrier lowering on sub-100 nm MOSFETs with high-k gate dielectrics

The fringing-induced barrier lowering（FIBL） effect of sub-100 nm MOSFETs with high-k gate dielectrics is investigated using a two-dimensional device simulator.An equivalent capacitance theory is proposed to explain the physics mechanism of the FIBL effect.The FIBL effect is enhanced and the short channel performance is degraded with increasing capacitance.Based on equivalent capacitance theory,the influences of channel length,junction depth,gate/lightly doped drain（LDD） overlap length,spacer material and spacer width on FIBL is thoroughly investigated.A stack gate dielectric is presented to suppress the FIBL effect.

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.

Phase control of magnetron sputtering deposited Gd_2O_3 thin films as high-κ gate dielectrics

Gd2O3 thin films as high-κ gate dielectrics were deposited directly on Si（001） substrates by magnetron sputtering at a pressure of 1.3 Pa and different temperatures. X-ray diffraction results revealed that all the films grown from 450 to 570 ℃ were crystalline, and the Gd2O3 thin films consisted of a mixture of cubic and monoclinic phases. The growth temperature was a critical parameter for the phase constituents and their relative amount. Low temperature was favorable for the formation of cubic phase while higher temperature gave rise to more monoclinic phase. All the Gd2O3 thin films grown from different temperatures exhibited acceptable electrical properties, such as low leakage current density （JL） of 10-5 A/cm^2 at zero bias with capacitance equivalent SiO2 thickness in the range of 6-13 nm. Through the comparison between films grown at 450 and 570 ℃, the existence of monoclinic phase caused an increase in JL by nearly one order of magnitude and a reduction of effective dielectric constant from 17 to 9.

Current Progress of Hf(Zr)-Based High-k Gate Dielectric Thin Films

With the continued downscaling of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor dimensions, high-dielectric constant （high-k） gate materials, as alternatives to SiO2, have been extensively investigated. Hf （Zr）-based high-k gate dielectric thin films have been regarded as the most promising candidates for high-k gate dielectric according to the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductor due to their excellent physical properties and performance. This paper reviews the recent progress on Hf （Zr）-based high-k gate dielectrics based on PVD （physical vapor deposition） process. This article begins with a survey of various methods developed for generating Hf （Zr）-based high-k gate dielectrics, and then mainly focuses on microstructure, synthesis, characterization, formation mechanisms of interfacial layer, and optical properties of Hf （Zr）-based high-k gate dielectrics. Finally, this review concludes with personal perspectives towards future research on Hf （Zr）-based high-k gate dielectrics.

A threshold voltage analytical model for high-k gate dielectric MOSFETs with fully overlapped lightly doped drain structures

We investigate the influence of voltage drop across the lightly doped drain（LDD） region and the built-in potential on MOSFETs,and develop a threshold voltage model for high-k gate dielectric MOSFETs with fully overlapped LDD structures by solving the two-dimensional Poisson＇s equation in the silicon and gate dielectric layers.The model can predict the fringing-induced barrier lowering effect and the short channel effect.It is also valid for non-LDD MOSFETs.Based on this model,the relationship between threshold voltage roll-off and three parameters,channel length,drain voltage and gate dielectric permittivity,is investigated.Compared with the non-LDD MOSFET,the LDD MOSFET depends slightly on channel length,drain voltage,and gate dielectric permittivity.The model is verified at the end of the paper.

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.

Modeling of Gate Tunneling Current for Nanoscale MOSFETs with High-k Gate Stacks

A quantum model based on solutions to the Schrodinger-Poisson equations is developed to investigate the device behavior related togate tunneling current for nanoscale MOSFETs with high-k gate stacks. This model can model various MOS device structures with combinations of high-k dielectric materials and multilayer gate stacks,revealing quantum effects on the device performance. Comparisons are made for gate current behavior between nMOSFET and pMOSFET high- k gate stack structures. The results presented are consistent with experimental data, whereas a new finding for an optimum nitrogen content in HfSiON gate dielectric requires further experimental verifications.

Gate Current for MOSFETs with High k Dielectric Materials

The MOSFET gate currents of high k gate dielectrics due to direct tunneling are investigated by using a new direct tunneling current model developed.The model includes both the inversion layer quantization effect with finite barrier height and the polysilicon depletion effect.The impacts of dielectric constant and conduction band offset as well as the band gap on the gate current are discussed.The results indicate that the gate dielectric materials with higher dielectric constant,larger conduction band offset and the larger band gap are necessary to reduce the gate current.The calculated results can be used as a guide to select the appropriate high k gate dielectric materials for MOSFETs.

Characterization of Sub-100nm MOSFETs with High K Gate Dielectric

The short-channel performance of typical 70nm MOSFETs with high K gate dielectric is widely studied by using a two dimensional(2-D) device simulator.The short-channel performance is degraded from the fringing field and lower the source/drain junction resistance.The sidewall material is found very useful to eliminate the fringing-induced berrier lowing effect.

Characteristics of high-quality HfSiON gate dielectric prepared by physical vapour deposition

This paper presents a method using simple physical vapour deposition to form high-quality hafnium silicon oxynitride （HfSiON） on ultrathin SiO2 buffer layer. The gate dielectric with 10A （1A = 0.1 nm） equivalent oxide thickness is obtained. The experimental results indicate that the prepared HfSiON gate dielectric exhibits good physical and electrical characteristics, including very good thermal stability up to 1000℃, excellent interface properties, high dielectric constant （k = 14） and low gate-leakage current （Ig = 1.9 × 10^-3 A/cm^2@Vg = Vfb - 1 V for EOT of 10 A）. TaN metal gate electrode is integrated with the HfSiON gate dielectric.The effective work function of TaN on HfSiON is 4.3 eV, meeting the requirements of NMOS for the metal gate. And, the impacts of sputtering ambient and annealing temperature on the electrical properties of HfSiON gate dielectric are investigated.

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.

Energy-band alignment of atomic layer deposited(HfO_2)_x(Al_2O_3)_(1-x) gate dielectrics on 4H-SiC

We study a series of（HfO2）x（Al2O3）1-x /4H-SiC MOS capacitors. It is shown that the conduction band offset of HfO2 is 0.5 e V and the conduction band offset of Hf AlO is 1.11–1.72 e V. The conduction band offsets of（Hf O2）x（Al2O3）1-x are increased with the increase of the Al composition, and the（HfO2）x（Al2O3）1-x offer acceptable barrier heights（〉 1 e V）for both electrons and holes. With a higher conduction band offset,（Hf O2）x（Al2O3）1-x/4H-SiC MOS capacitors result in a ～ 3 orders of magnitude lower gate leakage current at an effective electric field of 15 MV/cm and roughly the same effective breakdown field of ～ 25 MV/cm compared to HfO2. Considering the tradeoff among the band gap, the band offset, and the dielectric constant, we conclude that the optimum Al2O3 concentration is about 30% for an alternative gate dielectric in 4H-Si C power MOS-based transistors.

Analysis of flatband voltage shift of metal/high-k/SiO_2/Si stack based on energy band alignment of entire gate stack

A theoretical model of flatband voltage （VFB） of metal/high-k/Si02/Si stack is proposed based on band alignment of entire gate stack, i.e., the VFB is obtained by simultaneously considering band alignments of metal/high-k, high-k/SiO2 and SiO2/Si interfaces, and their interactions. Then the VFB of TiN/HfO2/SiO2/Si stack is experimentally obtained and theoretically investigated by this model. The theoretical calculations are in good agreement with the experimental results. Furthermore, both positive VFB shift of TiN/HfO2/SiO2/Si stack and Fermi level pinning are successfully interpreted and attributed to the dielectric contact induced gap states at TiN/HfO2 and HfO2/SiO2 interfaces.

Flat-band voltage shift in metal-gate/high-k/Si stacks

In metal-gate/high-k stacks adopted by the 45 nm technology node, the fiat-band voltage （Vfb） shift remains one of the most critical challenges, particularly the flat-band voltage roll-off （Vfb roll-off） phenomenon in p-channel metal- oxide-semiconductor （pMOS） devices with an ultrathin oxide layer. In this paper, recent progress on the investigation of the Vfb shift and the origin of the Vfb roll-off in the metal-gate/high-k pMOS stacks are reviewed. Methods that can alleviate the Vfb shift phenomenon are summarized and the future research trend is described.

Analytical model including the fringing-induced barrier lowering effect for a dual-material surrounding-gate MOSFET with a high-κ gate dielectric

By solving Poisson＇s equation in both semiconductor and gate insulator regions in the cylindrical coordinates, an analytical model for a dual-material surrounding-gate （DMSG） metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor （MOSFET） with a high-k gate dielectric has been developed. Using the derived model, the influences of fringing-induced barrier lowering （FIBL） on surface potential, subthreshold current, DIBL, and subthreshold swing are investigated. It is found that for the same equivalent oxide thickness, the gate insulator with high-k dielectric degrades the short-channel performance of the DMSG MOSFET. The accuracy of the analytical model is verified by the good agreement of its results with that obtained from the ISE three-dimensional numerical device simulator.

High-k材料研究进展与存在的问题

随着集成电路的飞速发展,SiO2作为传统的栅介质将不能满足MOSFET器件高集成度的要求,需要一种新型High-k材料来代替传统的SiO2,这就要综合考虑以下几个方面问题:(1)介电常数和势垒高度;(2)热稳定性;(3)薄膜形态;(4)界面质量;(5)与Si基栅兼容;(6)工艺兼容性;(7)可靠性。本文综述了几类High-k栅介质材料的研究现状及存在的问题。目前任何一种有望替代SiO2的栅介质材料都不能完全满足上述几点要求。但是,科学工作者们已经发现了几种有希望的High-k候选材料。

MOS器件Hf基高k栅介质的研究综述

随着金属氧化物半导体(MOS)器件尺寸的持续缩小,HfO2因其介电常数(k)高、带隙大等特点,成为取代传统SiO2栅介质最有希望的候选材料.本文综述了Hf基高k栅介质薄膜的近年的研究进展.针对HfO2结晶温度低、在HfO2薄膜和Si衬底间易形成界面层导致漏电流大、界面态密度高、击穿电压低等问题,回顾了最近论文报道的两种策略,即掺杂改性和插入缓冲层.接着举例讨论了Hf基材料从二元到掺杂氧化物/复合物的演变、非Si衬底上淀积Hf基高k栅介质、Hf基高k栅介质的非传统MOS器件结构,为集成电路(IC)中MOS器件的长期发展提供一些思路.

A novel power UMOSFET with a variable K dielectric layer

A novel split-gate power UMOSFET with a variable K dielectric layer is proposed. This device shows a 36.2% reduction in the specific on=state resistance at a breakdown voltage of 115 V, as compared with the SGE-UMOS device. Numerical simulation results indicate that the proposed device features high performance with an improved figure of merit of Qg × RON and BV^2/RON, as compared with the previous power UMOSFET.

Electrical properties and reliability of HfO2 gate-dielectric MOS capacitors with trichloroethylene surface pretreatment

Trichloroethylene （TCE） pretreatment of Si surface prior to HfO2 deposition is employed to fabricate HfO2 gatedielectric MOS capacitors. Influence of this processing procedure on interlayer growth, HfO2/Si interface properties, gate-oxide leakage and device reliability is investigated. Among the surface pretreatments in NH3, NO, N2O and TCE ambients, the TCE pretreatment gives the least interlayer growths the lowest interface-state density, the smallest gate leakage and the highest reliability. All these improvements should be ascribed to the passivation effects of Cl2 and HC1 on the structural defects in the interlayer and at the interface, and also their gettering effects on the ion contamination in the gate dielectric.