Thin stoichiometric erbium oxide films were atomic layer deposited on p-type Si(100) substrates using tris(methylcyclopentadienyl)erbium and ozone. The film growth rate was found to be 0.12 ± 0.01 nm/cycle with an atomic layer deposition temperature window of 170-330 ºC. X-ray photoelectron spectral (XPS) analysis of the resulting Er 2 O 3 films indicated the as-deposited films to be stoichiometric with no evidence of carbon contamination. Studies of post deposition annealing effects on resulting films and interfaces were done using Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy, XPS, glancing incidence X-ray diffraction, and optical surface profilometry.As-deposited Er 2 O 3 films were found to crystallize in the cubic structure with dominant (222) orientation; no erbium silicate was found at the interface. After annealing at 800 ºC in N 2 for 5 min, a new XPS feature was found and it was assigned to the formation of erbium silicate. As the annealing temperature was increased, the interfacial erbium silicate content was found to increase in the temperature range studied.
A novel atomic layer deposition (ALD) route of Y2O3 thin films was developed and demonstrated utilizing Y(iPrCp)3 and O3. The ALD growth characteristics were investigated by varying precursor dosage, reactor temperature, and number of deposition cycles. The growth rate of Y2O3 was found to be 0.17 {plus minus} 0.01 nm/cycle within the ALD temperature window of 245 - 300 ºC. The resulting films were analyzed with spectral ellipsometry and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, in order to determine stoichiometry, impurity, annealing behavior, and refractive index. The results of this work demonstrate the potential for suggesting Y(iPrCp)3 as a suitable ALD precursor and Ar+ beam as an effective means of removing surface Y(OH)3 on Y2O3 films.
Er 1-x Ti x O y dielectric thin films were deposited on Si(100) substrates by atomic layer deposition (ALD) using tris(methylcyclopentadienyl)erbium [(CpMe) 3 Er] and tetrakis(diethylamino)titanium [TDEAT] as metal precursors, and O 3 as oxidant. The deposition temperature dependence of both Er 2 O 3 and TiO 2 film growths showed the overlapping ALD window of 175-250 • C. Compositional tunability of Er 1-x Ti x O y films was obtained through deposition process control. Carbon and nitrogen impurities in as-deposited films were found to be below X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy detection level. Glancing incidence X-ray diffraction and phase-shifting interferometry results showed that Er x Ti 1-x O y films with ALD cycle ratios (Er 2 O 3 /TiO 2 ) of 1:8 or higher have a good thermal stability and remain amorphous with unchanged surface roughness after post-deposition rapid thermal processing (RTP) at 700 • C in O 2 . Electrical measurements showed that optimized amorphous Er 1-x Ti x O y films after RTP exhibited a dielectric constant of ∼36, a hysteresis voltage of less than 10 mV, and a leakage current density of 10 −8 A/cm 2 at −1 MV/cm; such properties compare favorably with the properties of other reported amorphous titanium-based ternary dielectrics on Si. The sizable reduction of leakage current density of Er 1-x Ti x O y found in our study suggests that amorphous Er 1-x Ti x O y thin films are promising future dielectrics in Si integrated circuit technology.
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