Observation of Threshold-Voltage Instability in Single-Crystal Silicon TFTs on Flexible Plastic Substrate

We report the first observation of threshold-voltage instability of single-crystal silicon (Si) thin-film transistors (TFTs) that are fabricated on low-temperature flexible plastic substrate. Single-crystal Si of 200-nm thickness is transferred from silicon-on-insulator (SOI) onto an indium-tin-oxide-coated polyethylene terephthalate host substrate after selectively removing the buried-oxide layer from the SOI. TFTs of n-type were then fabricated on the transferred single-crystal Si layer with 1.8-mum thick SU-8-2 epoxy as the gate dielectric layer. It is observed that the threshold voltage (V_th) of these TFTs shifts to higher and lower values under high positive and negative gate-voltage stress, respectively. A logarithmic time-dependence of the V_th shift at high bias stress was clearly indicated. These results suggest that the instability of the threshold voltage of the single-crystal Si TFTs is attributed to the charge trapping in the gate dielectric layer.     

Ultrathin body SiGe-on-insulator pMOSFETs with high-mobility SiGe surface channels

A novel concept and a fabrication technique of strained SiGe-on-insulator (SGOI) pMOSFET are proposed and demonstrated. This device has an ultrathin strained SiGe channel layer, which is directly sandwiched by gate oxide and buried oxide layers. The mobility enhancement of 2.3 times higher than the universal mobility of conventional universal Si pMOSFETs was obtained for a pMOSFET with 19-nm-thick Si/sub 0.58/Ge/sub 0.42/ channel layer, which is formed by high-temperature oxidation of a Si/sub 0.9/Ge/sub 0.1/ layer grown on a Si-on-insulator (SOI) substrate. A fully depleted SGOI MOSFET with this simple single-layer body structure is promising for scaled SOI p-MOSFET with high current drive.     

纳米CMOS电路的应变Si衬底制备技术

应变硅衬底材料——弛豫SiGe层作为应变硅技术应用的基础,其质量的好坏对应变硅器件性能有致命的影响。综述了近年来用于纳米CMOS电路的各类弛豫SiGe层的制备技术,并对弛豫SiGe层中应变测量技术进行了简单的介绍,以期推动应变硅技术在我国芯片业的应用。     

Pure germanium epitaxial growth on thin strained silicon-germanium graded layers on bulk silicon substrate for high-mobility channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors

We demonstrate epitaxially grown high-quality pure germanium (Ge) on bulk silicon (Si) substrates by ultra-high-vacuum chemical vapor deposition (UHVCVD) without involving growth of thick relaxed SiGe buffer layers. The Ge layer is grown on thin compressively strained SiGe layers with rapidly varying Ge mole fraction on Si substrates resulting in several SiGe interfaces between the Si substrate and the pure Ge layer at the surface. The presence of such interfaces between the Si substrate and the Ge layer results in blocking threading dislocation defects, leading to a defect-free pure Ge epitaxial layer on the top. Results from various material characterization techniques on these grown films are shown. In addition, capacitance-voltage (CV) measurements of metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors fabricated on this structure are also presented, showing that the grown structure is ideal for high-mobility metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor applications.     

Fabrication of thick, high-quality strained SiGe layer on ultra-thin silicon-on-insulator and modeling of film strain

Fabrication of a thick strained SiGe layer on bulk silicon is hampered by the lattice mismatch and difference in the thermal expansion coefficients between Si and SiGe, and a high Ge content leads to severe strain in the SiGe film. When the thickness of the SiGe film is above a critical value (90 nm for 18% Ge), drastic deterioration of the film properties as well as dislocations will result. In comparison, a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate with a thin top Si layer can mitigate the problems and so a thick SiGe layer with high Ge concentration can conceivably be synthesized. In the work reported here, a 110 nm thick high-quality strained Si_0.82Ge_0.18 layer was fabricated on an ultra-thin SOI substrate with a 30 nm top silicon layer using ultra-high vacuum chemical vapor deposition (UHVCVD). The thickness of the SiGe layer is larger than the critical thickness on bulk Si. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) reveals that the SiGe layer is dislocation-free and the atoms at the SiGe/Si interface are well aligned, even though X-ray diffraction (XRD) data indicate that the SiGe film is highly strained. The strain factors determined from the XRD and Raman results agree well.     

Low-temperature single-crystal Si TFTs fabricated on Si filmsprocessed via sequential lateral solidification

Nonhydrogenated, n-channel, low-temperature-processed, single-crystal Si thin-film transistors (TFTs) have been fabricated on Si thin films prepared via sequential lateral solidification (SLS). The device characteristics of the resulting SLS TFTs exhibit properties and a level of performance that are superior to polycrystalline Si-based TFTs and are comparable to similar devices fabricated on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates or bulk-Si wafers. We attribute these high-performance device characteristics to the absence of high-angle grain-boundaries within the active channel portion of the TFTs     

Resonant cavity enhanced photoluminescence of tensile strained Ge/SiGe quantum wells on silicon-on-insulator substrate

The tensile strained Ge/SiGe multiple quantum wells （MQWs） grown on a silicon-on-insulator （SOI） substrate were fabricated successfully by ultra-high chemical vapor deposition. Room temperature direct band photoluminescence from Ge quantum wells on SOI substrate is strongly modulated by Fabry-Perot cavity formed between the surface of Ge and the interface of buried SiO2. The photoluminescence peak intensity at 1.58 μm is enhanced by about 21 times compared with that from the Ge/SiGe quantum wells on Si substrate, and the full width at half maximum （FWHM） is significantly reduced. It is suggested that tensile strained Ge/SiGe multiple quantum wells are one of the promising materials for Si-based microcavity lijzht emitting devices.     

High-mobility ultrathin strained Ge MOSFETs on bulk and SOI with low band-to-band tunneling leakage: experiments

For the first time, the tradeoffs between higher mobility (smaller bandgap) channel and lower band-to-band tunneling (BTBT) leakage have been investigated. In particular, through detailed experiments and simulations, the transport and leakage in ultrathin (UT) strained germanium (Ge) MOSFETs on bulk and silicon-on-insulator (SOI) have been examined. In the case of strained Ge MOSFETs on bulk Si, the resulting optimal structure obtained was a UT low-defect 2-nm fully strained Ge epi channel on relaxed Si, with a 4-nm Si cap layer. The fabricated device shows very high mobility enhancements >3.5/spl times/ over bulk Si devices, 2/spl times/ mobility enhancement and >10/spl times/ BTBT reduction over 4-nm strained Ge, and surface channel 50% strained SiGe devices. Strained SiGe MOSFETs having UT (T/sub Ge/<3 nm) very high Ge fraction (/spl sim/ 80%) channel and Si cap (T/sub Si cap/<3 nm) have also been successfully fabricated on thin relaxed SOI substrates (T/sub SOI/=9 nm). The tradeoffs in obtaining a high-mobility (smaller bandgap) channel with low tunneling leakage on UT-SOI have been investigated in detail. The fabricated device shows very high mobility enhancements of >4/spl times/ over bulk Si devices, >2.5/spl times/ over strained silicon directly on insulator (SSDOI; strained to 20% relaxed SiGe) devices, and >1.5/spl times/ over 60% strained SiGe (on relaxed bulk Si) devices.     

Evaluation of super-critical thickness strained-Si on insulator (sc-SSOI) substrate

Crystal quality and strain distribution in SOI layer of conventional strained-Si on insulator (SSOI) and super-critical thickness strained-Si on insulator (sc-SSOI) were evaluated by in-plane X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, and other techniques. The surface defect distribution measured by wafer inspection system shows pit-type and line defects in both SSOI layers. More specifically, the sc-SSOI material has more line defects than conventional SSOI layers. Cross-hatched pattern defects were observed using X-ray topography (XRT) measurements. Raman mapping of 300 mm wafers shows the strain at the center of the wafer is larger than at the edge. In magnified close-up mapping, cross-hatched contrasts corresponding to misfit dislocations are observed, while the surface morphology is completely smoothed out. In-plane XRD measurements show the strain depth variations are quite uniform along the depth direction. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of in-plane XRD peaks obtained from strained-Si layers is much larger than for un-strained SOI and bulk Si, reflecting poor crystal quality. SSOI was fabricated by the layer transfer of strained-Si on a virtual SiGe substrate. Therefore, we believe the crystal quality and strain distribution originate in the donor strained Si when virtual SiGe substrate is the starting material.     

Strained Si/SiGe MOS technology: Improving gate dielectric integrity

Strained Si is recognised as a necessary technology booster for the nanoelectronics regime. This work shows that high levels of stress attainable from globally strained Si/SiGe platforms can benefit gate leakage and reliability in addition to MOSFET channel mobility. Device self-heating due to the low thermal conductivity of SiGe is shown to be the dominating factor behind compromised performance gains in short channel strained Si/SiGe MOSFETs. Novel thin virtual substrates aimed at reducing self-heating effects are investigated. In addition to reducing self-heating effects, the thin virtual substrates provide further improvements to gate oxide integrity, reliability and lifetime compared with conventional thick virtual substrates. This is attributed to the lower surface roughness of the thin virtual substrates which arises due to the reduced interactions of strain-relieving misfit dislocations during thin virtual substrate growth. Good agreement between experimental data and physical models is demonstrated, enabling gate leakage mechanisms to be identified. The advantages and challenges of using globally strained Si/SiGe to advance MOS technology are discussed.     

采用低温Si技术的Si/SiGe异质结P-MOSFET

针对S i/S iG e p-M O SFET的虚拟S iG e衬底厚度较大(大于1μm)的问题,采用低温S i技术在S i缓冲层和虚拟S iG e衬底之间M BE生长低温-S i层。S iG e层应力通过低温-S i层释放,达到应变弛豫。XRD和AFM测试表明,S i0.8G e0.2层厚度可减薄至300 nm,其弛豫度大于85%,表面平均粗糙度仅为1.02 nm。试制出应变S i/S iG e p-M O SFET器件,最大空穴迁移率达到112 cm2/V s,其性能略优于目前多采用1μm厚虚拟S iG e衬底的器件。     

Si/SiGe PMOSFET USING P^＋ IMPLANTATION TECHNOLOGY

Si/SiGe P-channel Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor （PMOSFET） using P^＋ （phosphor ion） implantation technology is successfully fabricated. P^＋ implantation into SiGe virtual substrate induces a narrow defect region slightly below the SiGe/Si interface, which gives rise to strongly enhanced strain relaxation of SiGe virtual substrate. X-Ray Diffraction （XRD） tests show that the degree of relaxation of SiGe layer is 96% while 85% before implantation. After annealed, the sample appeared free of Threading Dislocation densities （TDs） within the SiGe layer to the limit of Transmission Electron Microscopy （TEM） analysis. Atomic Force Microscope （AFM） test of strained Si channel surface shows that Root Mean Square （RMS） is 1.1nm. The Direct Current （DC） characters measured by HP 4155B indicate that the maximum saturated transconductance is twice bigger than that of bulk Si PMOSFET.     

Transition from the two- to three-dimensional growth of Ge films upon deposition onto relaxed SiGe/Si(001) buffer layers

The critical thickness of the two-dimensional growth of Ge on relaxed SiGe/Si(001) buffer layers different in Ge content is studied in relation to the parameters of the layers. It is shown that the critical thickness of the two-dimensional growth of Ge on SiGe buffer layers depends on the lattice mismatch between the film and the substrate and, in addition, is heavily influenced by Ge segregation during SiGe-layer growth and by variations in the growth-surface roughness upon the deposition of strained (stretched) Si layers. It is found that the critical thickness of the two-dimensional growth of Ge directly onto SiGe buffer layers with a Ge content of x = 11–36% is smaller than that in the case of deposition onto a Si (001) substrate. The experimentally detected increase in the critical thickness of the two-dimensional growth of Ge with increasing thickness of the strained (stretched) Si layer predeposited onto the buffer layer is attributed to a decrease in the growth-surface roughness and in the amount of Ge located on the surface as a result of segregation.     

NBTI and hot carrier effect of SOI p-MOSFETs fabricated in strained Si SOI wafer

Comparative study on NBTI and hot carrier effects of p-channel MOSFETs fabricated by using strained SOI wafer and unstrained SOI wafer has been performed, respectively. It is observed that NBTI and hot carrier degradation are more significant in strained SOI devices compared with unstrained SOI devices. Since the devices fabricated in strained SOI wafer are SiGe free strained devices, the more generation of interface states during gate oxidation is the main cause for enhanced NBTI and hot carrier degradation in strained SOI devices.     

采用SiGe虚拟衬底高迁移率应变硅材料的制备和表征

研究了生长在弛豫Si0.79Ge0.21/梯度Si1-xGex/Si虚拟衬底上的应变硅材料的制备和表征,这一结构是由减压外延气相沉积系统制作的.根据双晶X射线衍射计算出固定组分SiGe层的Ge浓度和梯度组分SiGe层的梯度,并由二次离子质谱仪测量验证.由原子力显微术和喇曼光谱测试结果得到应变硅帽层的表面粗糙度均方根和应变度分别为2.36nm和0.83%;穿透位错密度约为4×104cm-2.此外,发现即使经受了高热开销过程,应变硅层的应变仍保持不变.分别在应变硅和无应变的体硅沟道上制作了nMOSFET器件,并对它们进行了测量.相对于同一流程的体硅MOSFET,室温下观测到应变硅器件中电子的低场迁移率显著增强,约为85%.     

用减压化学气相沉积技术制备应变硅材料

利用减压化学气相沉积技术，制备出应变Si/弛豫Si0.9Ge0.1/渐变组分弛豫SiGe/Si衬底. 通过控制组分渐变SiGe过渡层的组分梯度和适当优化弛豫SiGe层的外延生长工艺，有效地降低了表面粗糙度和位错密度.与Ge组分突变相比，采用线性渐变组分后，应变硅材料表面粗糙度从3.07nm减小到0.75nm，位错密度约为5E4cm-2，表面应变硅层应变度约为0.45%.     

Fabrication and current-drive of SiGe/Si 'Micro-origami' epitaxial MEMS device on SOI substrate

A micromirror structure with SiGe/Si heteroepitaxial layer on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate using a 'Micro-origami' technique has been successfully fabricated. The micromirror is supported by two curved hinge structures. The device is driven by application of a current, and net angular displacements larger than 10/spl deg/ (static) and 30/spl deg/ (in resonance) were obtained. These values are comparable with or even larger than the reported values for other MEMS optical switches or beam scanning devices. The experimental results suggest that the movement is evoked by a thermal effect. The Micro-origami device has advantages of low operation voltage smaller than 2 V, and structural compatibility with the Si or SiGe LSIs.     

CMOS兼容近红外Si0.7Ge0.3/Si p-i-n(SOI)光电探测器

报道了一种采用UHV/CVD锗硅工艺和CMOS工艺流程在SOI衬底上制作的横向叉指状Si0.7Ge0.3/Si p-i-n光电探测器.测试结果表明:其工作波长范围为0.7～1.1μm,在峰值响应波长为0.93μm,响应度为0.38A/W.在3.0V的偏压下,其暗电流小于1nA,寄生电容小于1.0pF,上升时间为2.5ns.其良好的光电特性以及与CMOS工艺的兼容性,为研制能有效工作于近红外光的高速、低工作电压硅基光电集成器件提供了一种新的尝试,在高速光信号探测等应用中有一定的价值.     

CMOS兼容近红外Si0.7Ge0.3/Si p-i-n(SOI)光电探测器

报道了一种采用UHV/CVD锗硅工艺和CMOS工艺流程在SOI衬底上制作的横向叉指状Si0.7Ge0.3/Si p-i-n光电探测器.测试结果表明:其工作波长范围为0.7～1.1μm,在峰值响应波长为0.93μm,响应度为0.38A/W.在3.0V的偏压下,其暗电流小于1nA,寄生电容小于1.0pF,上升时间为2.5ns.其良好的光电特性以及与CMOS工艺的兼容性,为研制能有效工作于近红外光的高速、低工作电压硅基光电集成器件提供了一种新的尝试,在高速光信号探测等应用中有一定的价值.     

Photoluminescence line width of self-assembled Ge(Si) islands arranged between strained Si layers

The effect of variations in the strained Si layer thicknesses, measurement temperature, and optical excitation power on the width of the photoluminescence line produced by self-assembled Ge(Si) nanoislands, which are grown on relaxed SiGe/Si(001) buffer layers and arranged between strained Si layers, is studied. It is shown that the width of the photoluminescence line related to the Ge(Si) islands can be decreased or increased by varying the thickness of strained Si layers lying above and under the islands. A decrease in the width of the photoluminescence line of the Ge(Si) islands to widths comparable with the width of the photoluminescence line of quantum dot (QD) structures based on direct-gap InAs/GaAs semiconductors is attained with consideration of diffusive smearing of the strained Si layer lying above the islands.