A high performance MIM capacitor using HfO2 dielectrics

Metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors with a 56 nm thick HfO₂ high-κ dielectric film have been fabricated and demonstrated for the first of time with a low thermal budget (~200°C). Voltage linearity, temperature coefficients of capacitance, and electrical properties are all characterized. The results show that the HfO₂ MIM capacitor can provide a higher capacitance density than Si₃N₄ MIM capacitor while still maintaining comparable voltage and temperature coefficients of capacitance. In addition, a low leakage current of 2×10^-9 A/cm² at 3 V is achieved. All of these make the HfO ₂ MIM capacitor to be very suitable for use in silicon RF and mixed signal IC applications     

High-density MIM capacitors using Al2O3 andAlTiOx dielectrics

We have investigated the electrical characteristics of Al₂ O₃ and AlTiO_x MIM capacitors from the IF (100 KHz) to RF (20 GHz) frequency range. Record high capacitance density of 0.5 and 1.0 μF/cm² are obtained for Al₂ O₃ and AlTiO_x MIM capacitors, respectively, and the fabrication process is compatible to existing VLSI backend integration. However, the AlTiO_x MIM capacitor has very large capacitance reduction at increasing frequencies. In contrast, good device integrity has been obtained for the Al₂O₃ MIM capacitor as evidenced from the small frequency dependence, low leakage current, good reliability, small temperature coefficient, and low loss tangent     

First investigation of metal–insulator–metal (MIM) capacitor using Pr2O3 dielectrics

Metal–insulator–metal (MIM) capacitors with Pr₂O₃ as high-k material have been investigated for the first time. We varied the thickness of the Pr₂O₃ layers as well as the bottom electrode material. The layers are characterised using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS). Preliminary information on the interaction of water with the films was obtained from XPS and ab initio pseudopotential calculations. The electrical characterisation shows that Pr₂O₃ MIM capacitors can provide higher capacitance densities than Si₃N₄ MIM capacitors while still maintaining comparable voltage coefficients of capacitance. The Pr₂O₃ dielectric material seems to be suitable for use in silicon RF applications.     

Degradation of high-K LA2O3 gate dielectrics using progressive electrical stress

The evolution of the leakage current in high-K lanthanum oxide films in MOS devices caused by the application of progressive electrical stress is investigated. The degradation method consists in performing successive voltage sweeps using an ever increasing voltage range with the aim of generating incremental damage to the structure in a controlled manner. We show that the total current flowing through the device can be thought of as formed by two parallel components, one associated with the tunneling mechanism and the other one associated with diode-like conduction. This latter component evolves with applied stress. It is shown the importance of considering series and parallel resistances in order to account for the right shape of the conduction characteristics. Analytical expressions for both current contributions suitable for all stages of degradation and bias conditions are provided.     

New TIT capacitor with ZrO2/Al2O3/ZrO2 dielectrics for 60 nm and below DRAMs

New ZrO₂/Al₂O₃/ZrO₂ (ZAZ) dielectric film was successfully developed for DRAM capacitor dielectrics of 60 nm and below technologies. ZAZ dielectric film grown by ALD has a mixture structure of crystalline phase ZrO₂ and amorphous phase Al₂O₃ in order to optimize dielectric properties. ZAZ TIT capacitor showed small Tox.eq of 8.5 Å and a low leakage current density of 0.35 fA/cell, which meet leakage current criteria of 0.5 fA/cell for mass production. ZAZ TIT capacitor showed a smaller cap leak fail bit than HAH capacitor and stable leakage current up to 550 °C anneal. TDDB (time dependent dielectric breakdown) behavior reliably satisfied the 10-year lifetime criteria within operation voltage range.     

Preparation and electrical properties of SrTiO3 ceramics doped with M2O3–PbO–CuO

SrTiO₃ dielectric ceramics were fabricated in air by using M₂O₃–CuO–PbO as dopants (M=Sm,Nd,La,Yb). The obtained ceramics exhibited a high dielectric constant (₂₅>4880) with stable temperature characteristics. With doping the rare-earth ions from Sm → Nd → La → Yb, the corresponding dielectric constant regularly decreased. The investigation of microstructure showed that Yb additives benefited to the grain growth and CuO additives mainly segregated at the grain boundaries to form the insulation layers. According to the results, the conduction mechanism of SrTiO₃–M₂O₃–CuO–PbO system was discussed.     

Demonstration of GaN MIS diodes by using AlN and Ga2O3(Gd2O3) as dielectrics

GaN MIS diodes were demonstrated utilizing AlN and Ga₂O₃(Gd₂O₃) as insulators. A 345 Å of AlN was grown on the MOCVD grown n-GaN in a MOMBE system using trimethylamine alane as Al precursor and nitrogen generated from a SVT RF N₂ plasma. For the Ga₂O₃(Gd₂O₃) growth, a multi-MBE chamber was used and a 195 Å oxide was E-beam evaporated from a single crystal source of Ga₅Gd₃O₁₂. The forward breakdown voltage of AlN and Ga₂O₃(Gd₂O₃) diodes are 5 and 6 V, respectively, which are significantly improved over 1.2 V from that of a Schottky contact. From the C–V measurements, both kinds of diodes showed good charge modulation from accumulation to depletion at different frequencies. The insulator/GaN interface roughness and the thickness of the insulator were measured with X-ray reflectivity.     

SrO capping effect for La2O3/Ce-silicate gate dielectrics

The chemical bonding states and electrical characteristics of SrO capped La₂O₃/CeO_x gate dielectric have been examined. Angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurement has revealed that Sr atoms diffuse into silicate layer to form SrLa-silicate after annealing. Owing to the incorporation of Sr atoms into silicate layer, a transistor operation with an equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) below 0.5 nm has been demonstrated. A strongly degraded effective electron mobility of 78 cm²/V s at 1 MV/cm has been obtained, which fit well with the general trend in small EOT range below 1 nm. Although process optimization is needed to improve the performance of transistors, Sr capping technique can be useful for EOT scaling.     

PVD HfO/sub 2/ for high-precision MIM capacitor applications

Metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors are fabricated using sputtered HfO/sub 2/ with Ta and TaN for top and bottom electrodes, respectively. High-capacitance densities from 4.7 to 8.1 fF//spl mu/m/sup 2/ have been achieved while maintaining the leakage current densities around 1 /spl times/ 10/sup -8/ A/cm/sup 2/ within the normal circuit bias conditions. A guideline for the insulator thickness and its dielectric constant has been obtained by analyzing the tradeoff between the linearity coefficient and the capacitance density.     

用于GaAs射频集成电路的不同厚度氧化铝MIM 电容的研究

本文研究了不同厚度的氧化铝对MIM电容直流和射频特性的影响。在1MHz下,对于20nm氧化铝MIM电容,其拥有3850 pF/mm₂的高电容密度和可接受的681 ppm/V₂的VCC-α电压系数。1MHz时突出的74 ppm/V₂VCC-α电压系数,8.2GHz谐振频率以及2GHz时41的Q值可以从100nm氧化铝MIM电容获得。采用GaAs工艺以及原子层淀积制造的高性能ALD氧化铝MIM电容很有可能成为GaAs射频集成电路很有前景的候选器件。     

Co_2O_3掺杂对0.965MgTiO_3-0.035SrTiO_3微波介质陶瓷性能的影响

采用传统电子陶瓷制备方法研究了Co2O3(1.5%～5.0%,质量分数)掺杂的0.965MgTiO3-0.035SrTiO3(MST0.035)微波介质陶瓷,分析了Co2O3含量对MST0.035陶瓷的烧结性能、晶相结构、显微形貌以及微波介电性能的影响。结果表明:Co2O3的掺杂促进了MST0.035陶瓷的烧结。随着Co2O3掺杂量的增加,陶瓷介电常数略有下降,谐振频率温度系数以及品质因数增加,同时中间相MgTi2O5逐渐减少直至完全消失。当Co2O3掺杂量为质量分数3.0%时,MST0.035陶瓷的烧结温度由1 380℃降低到1 290℃,其烧结所得的样品具有优良的微波介电性能:谐振频率温度系数τf=–2.53×10–6/℃,高的品质因数Q·f=19 006 GHz和介电常数εr=20.5。     

Dielectric properties of single crystals of Al2O3, LaAlO3, NdGaO3, SrTiO3, and MgOat cryogenic temperatures

A dielectric resonator technique has been used for measurements of the permittivity and dielectric loss tangent of single-crystal dielectric substrates in the temperature range 20-300 K at microwave frequencies. Application of superconducting films made it possible to determine dielectric loss tangents of about 5×10^-7 at 20 K. Two permittivity tensor components for uniaxially anisotropic samples were measured. Generally, single-crystal samples made of the same material by different manufacturers or by different processes save significantly different losses, although they have essentially the same permittivities. The permittivity of one crystalline ferroelectric substrate, SrTiO₃, strongly depends on temperature. This temperature dependence can affect the performance of ferroelectric thin-film microwave devices, such as electronically tunable phase shifters, mixers, delay lines and filters     

High-performance MIM capacitor using ALD high-k HfO/sub 2/-Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ laminate dielectrics

For the first time, we successfully fabricated and demonstrated high performance metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors with HfO/sub 2/-Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ laminate dielectric using atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique. Our data indicates that the laminate MIM capacitor can provide high capacitance density of 12.8 fF//spl mu/m/sup 2/ from 10 kHz up to 20 GHz, very low leakage current of 3.2 /spl times/ 10/sup -8/ A/cm/sup 2/ at 3.3 V, small linear voltage coefficient of capacitance of 240 ppm/V together with quadratic one of 1830 ppm/V/sup 2/, temperature coefficient of capacitance of 182 ppm//spl deg/C, and high breakdown field of /spl sim/6 MV/cm as well as promising reliability. As a result, the HfO/sub 2/-Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ laminate is a very promising candidate for next generation MIM capacitor for radio frequency and mixed signal integrated circuit applications.     

MIM capacitor integration for mixed-signal/RF applications

The relentless drive toward high-speed and high-density silicon-based integrated circuits (ICs) has necessitated significant advances in processing technology. The entrance of copper metallization in IC manufacturing has resulted in new challenges in metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor fabrication, one of the key building blocks in analog/mixed signal/RFCMOS circuits. The requirement to reduce passive chip space has led to active researches for MIM with high dielectric constant (/spl kappa/) film. This paper provides an overview of MIM capacitor integration issues with the transition from AlCu backend of line (BEOL) to Cu BEOL. The key to MIM capacitor electrical properties can be achieved with optimized dielectrics. The different MIM capacitor architectures published are also described. Special emphasis is made on the properties of various MIM with high-/spl kappa/ dielectrics in the last section.     

Characterization of the annealing impact on La2O3/HfO2 and HfO2/La2O3 stacks for MOS applications

The impact of various rapid thermal annealing used during the integration on the La₂O₃/HfO₂ and HfO₂/La₂O₃ stacks deposited by Atomic Layer deposition was analyzed. The consequences of lanthanum localization in such stacks on the evolution of the films during the rapid thermal annealing are investigated in term of morphology, crystalline structure, silicate formation and film homogeneity as a function of the depth. It appeared that the La₂O₃ location has an impact on the temperature of the quadratic phase formation which could be linked to the formation of SiOHfLa silicate and the resistance of the films to dissolution in HF 0.05 wt%.     

共沉淀法制备Y2O2SO4:Eu3+荧光粉及其光致发光研究

采用商业Y(NO3)3·6H2O、Eu(NO3)3·6H2O、(NH4)2SO4和NaOH为实验原料,通过共沉淀法制备了Y2O2SO4:Eu3+荧光粉。利用热分析(DTA-TG-DTG)、傅里叶变换红外(FT-IR)光谱、X射线衍射(XRD)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)和光致发光(PL)光谱等手段对合成的粉体进行了表征。结果表明,当(NH4)2SO4引入到反应体系中时,前驱体具有非晶态结构,且在空气气氛中800℃煅烧2h能转化为单相的Y2O2SO4粉体,该Y2O2SO4粉体呈准球形,粒径范围分布在0.5~1.0μm之间,团聚较严重。PL光谱分析表明,在270nm紫外光激发下,Y2O2SO4:Eu3+荧光粉呈红光发射,主发射峰位于620nm,归属于Eu3+的5D0→7F2跃迁。Eu3+的猝灭浓度是5 mol%,其对应的荧光寿命为1.22 ms。另外,当(NH4)2SO4未引入到反应体系中时,采用类似的方法合成了Y2O3:Eu3+荧光粉,并对Y2O2SO4:Eu3+和Y2O3:Eu3+荧光粉的PL性能进行了比较。     

Co gamma irradiation effects on electrical characteristics of Al/Y2O3/n-Si/Al capacitors

Al/Y₂O₃/n-Si/Al capacitors were irradiated by using a ⁶⁰Co gamma ray source and a maximum dose up to 8.4 kGy. The effect of an annealing treatment performed at 600 or 900 °C on the yttrium oxide (Y₂O₃) films was investigated by XRD and Raman spectroscopy. High-frequency capacitance-voltage (C-V) and conductance-voltage (G-V) measurements as well as quasi-static measurements of the MOS structures were analysed. The annealing improves the crystalline state of the Y₂O₃ thin film material and decreases the values of the flat-band voltage and of the interface trap level density indicating an improvement of the electrical properties of the interface thin film-substrate. But at this interface, the formation of an yttrium-silicate layer was also evidenced. After gamma irradiation, the values of the flat-band voltage and of the interface trap level density related to the Al/Y₂O₃/n-Si/Al structure increase and especially for the structure made with the materials annealed at 900 °C for 1 h. In that case, the structure is very sensitive to a gamma irradiation dose up to 8.4 kGy.     

The electronic structures and optical properties of BaTiO3 and SrTiO3 using first-principles calculations

The electronic-energy band structures and total density of states (TDOS) for bulk BaTiO₃ and SrTiO₃ were calculated by the first-principles calculations using density-functional theory and local-density approximation. The calculated band structure of BaTiO₃ and SrTiO₃ show the energy band gaps of 1.81 and 1.92 eV at the Γ point in the Brillouin zone, respectively. The optical properties of the both perovskites in the core-level spectra are investigated by the first principles under scissor approximation. The optical constants like refractive index and extinction coefficient of both BaTiO₃ and SrTiO₃ were derived from the calculated real and imaginary parts of the dielectric function. The calculated spectra were compared with the experimental results for BaTiO₃, SrTiO₃ in good agreement.     

Critical current characteristics of YBa2Cu3O7 thin films on (110) SrTiO3

The material and electrical characteristics of YBa₂Cu ₃O₇ (YBCO) thin films deposited by inverted cylindrical magnetron sputtering on (110) SrTiO₃ (STO) were investigated. X-ray diffractometry shows the grain orientations to be predominantly the YBCO (110) and (103) with no evidence of c-axis grains, Electron micrographs show the film surface to consist of coupled elongated grains parallel to the (110) STO edge. The films were patterned into small 2.5 mm squares parallel to the substrate edges for electrical characterization. Transport currents parallel and perpendicular to the (110) substrate edge showed a 945:1 anisotropy in film resistance and a factor of two in critical current density for temperatures below 60% of the transition temperature (T_c). The temperature dependence of the critical current near T_c was quadratic-like and strongly dependent on the value of T_c used in the analysis. For the two orientations, there was nearly a 6 K difference in T_c as determined by the point at which the critical current became zero. The response of the critical current to small magnetic fields was greater for transport current along the c-axis direction and was observable over a temperature interval nearly four times greater than for current along the basal plain. These YBCO thin films have good response to small magnetic fields and are suitable for vortex flow device development     

The characterization of retention properties of metal–ferroelectric (PbZr0.53Ti0.47O3)–insulator (Dy2O3, Y2O3)–semiconductor devices

Metal–ferroelectric–insulator–semiconductor (MFIS) capacitors and field effect transistors with the structures of Al/Pb (Zr_0.53, Ti_0.47) O₃ (PZT)/Dy₂O₃/Si and Al/PZT/Y₂O₃/Si were fabricated. The memory windows of Al/PZT/Dy₂O₃/Si and Al/PZT/Y₂O₃/Si capacitors with sweep voltage of 10 V are 1.03 V and 1.48 V, respectively. The effect of band offset on the memory window was discussed. The retention times of Al/PZT/Y₂O₃/Si and Al/PZT/Dy₂O₃/Si MFISFETs are 11.5 days and 11.1 h, respectively. The longer retention time of Al/PZT/Y₂O₃/Si field effect transistors is attributed to the larger conduction band offset at the Y₂O₃/Si interface (2.3 eV) compared to that of Dy₂O₃/Si (0.79 eV).