A study on thermal emission of charges at Si3N4—GaAs interfaces after annealing in N2 and N2 + H2 mixtures

Si₃N₄—GaAs interfaces subjected to annealing in N₂ + H₂ mixture or pure N₂ atmosphere were investigated by a small-signal charge deep-level transient spectroscopy (Q-DLTS) method. The method measures the physical parameters of selective populations of the interface traps continuum. A dependence of the capture cross-section on activation energy was constructed for the continuum of interface states at the Si₃N₄—GaAs interface. The dependence shows an exponential character in the part of the gap ranging from 0.3 to 1.0 eV below the conduction band minimum. It was found that annealing in the temperature interval 400–450 °C reduces the zero-bias band bending by about 0.1 eV. At temperatures of 500 °C and more, degradation of the interface started; compared with annealing in pure N₂ ambient, annealing in an N₂ + H₂ mixture degraded the interface slightly more.