Corona charging damage on thermal Si/SiO2 structures with nm-thick oxides revealed by electron spin resonance

Stesmans, André; Afanasʼev, Valeri

doi:10.1016/j.mee.2003.12.016

Cited by 5 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 18 publications

(25 reference statements)

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“…If this change can completely be attributed to an increase in D it , this would mean that the number of defects increased with a factor of 2 as well. According to the literature for Si, the damage effect seems substantially more pronounced at higher electric fields and longer exposure times, 93,97 making the last measured data points of S eff -Q c curves more susceptible to this artifact. This means that for the samples with negative charge density presented in this work, the damage may arise mainly in the right part of the S eff -Q c curves, leading to higher S eff values than the samples would have exhibited without damage effect.…”

Section: B Errors and Critical Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Regarding the interpretation of the S eff vs Q c data, it is furthermore important to realize that the method is not completely non-intrusive. Two important consequences of this are: a possible increase of the interface defect density 93,94 and a possible shift in the fixed charge density. 95,96 This can affect the fit parameters in several ways, which are discussed below.…”

Section: B Errors and Critical Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies have shown that during a corona charging experiment, some damage can be induced to the surface passivation of Si, 93,94 i.e., the interface defect density can increase during the course of the experiment. In this work, we found that this applies to Ge surface passivation as well.…”

Section: B Errors and Critical Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Extracting surface recombination parameters of germanium–dielectric interfaces by corona-lifetime experiments

Berghuis

Helmes

Melskens

et al. 2022

Journal of Applied Physics

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The interest in germanium (Ge) is rising for use in field-effect transistors, (space) photovoltaics, and silicon photonics. Suppressing and understanding carrier recombination at the Ge surface are vital for the performance of Ge in these applications. In this work, we have investigated the surface recombination at various germanium–dielectric interfaces (Ge/Al2O3, Ge/SiNx, Ge/GeOx/Al2O3, and Ge/a-Si:H/Al2O3). For this purpose, we performed corona-lifetime experiments and extracted a set of recombination parameters by fitting the data with the theoretical Girisch model. To keep the model straightforward, the distributions of the capture cross sections and the interface defect density [Formula: see text] were parameterized. The importance of each parameter in these distributions was examined so that a minimum number of parameters was distilled: the so-called fundamental recombination velocities ([Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]) and the magnitude of the [Formula: see text] near the valence and conduction band edge ([Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]). These parameters form together with the fixed charge density [Formula: see text], the spatial distribution thereof [Formula: see text], and a minimum surface recombination velocity [Formula: see text], a set of parameters that can well describe our experimental data. Relevant insights were obtained from the experiments, with highlights including a Ge/GeOx/Al2O3 stack with virtually no fixed charge density, a highly passivating Ge/a-Si:H/Al2O3 stack, and a negatively charged Ge/SiNx stack. The findings in this study are valuable for applications where a more profound understanding of recombination at Ge surfaces is of concern, such as in photonics, photovoltaics, and nano-electronics.

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Section: B Errors and Critical Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: B Errors and Critical Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Extracting surface recombination parameters of germanium–dielectric interfaces by corona-lifetime experiments

Berghuis

Helmes

Melskens

et al. 2022

Journal of Applied Physics

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“…[6][7][8] However it has generally been assumed that, provided such high fields are avoided, corona biasing is a noninvasive technique which merely leads to a variation in the surface charge density. Recent publications by Stesmans and Afanas'ev 7,8 have suggested that this assumption is not valid, and that corona biasing is an inherently unreliable technique that can lead to significant interface modification. Dautrich et al 6 have disagreed with these conclusions and maintain that, at low electric fields, corona biasing can safely be used without danger of interface modification.…”

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confidence: 99%

Defect generation at the Si–SiO2 interface following corona charging

Jin

Weber

Dang

et al. 2007

Applied Physics Letters

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“…13 Non-contact electrical characterization methods makes use of corona charging in air to deposit ionic species [positive charged (H 2 O) n H + or negative charged CO 3 − ] onto the SiO 2 surface. [14][15][16][17] The method can generate oxide fields within a typical range of +7 or −14 MV/cm by controlling the applied corona voltage. The value of n for (H 2 O) n H + depends on relative humidity and may range from 2 to 5 for usual conditions.…”

Section: Ecsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ultra-Thin SiO₂/Si Interface Quality In-Line Monitoring Using Multiwavelength Room Temperature Photoluminescence and Raman Spectroscopy

Yoo¹,

Kim

Jin

et al. 2014

ECS J. Solid State Sci. Technol.

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Multiwavelength room temperature photoluminescence (RTPL) and Raman spectroscopy were proposed as in-line monitoring techniques for characterizing the dielectric/Si interface. As an application example, ∼7.0 nm thick ultra-thin SiO 2 films on 300 mm Si wafers, prepared by various oxidation techniques and conditions, were characterized using multiwavelength RTPL and Raman spectroscopy. Specifically, overall quality of the ultra-thin SiO 2 /Si interface (including passivation characteristics) and Si lattice stress beneath SiO 2 films are investigated. The overall SiO 2 /Si interface quality was seen to be very dependent on oxidation technique and process conditions. Within wafer and wafer-to-wafer variations of SiO 2 /Si interface quality were successfully characterized by RTPL and Raman spectra measurements. For electrical analysis of SiO 2 /Si-based structures, non-contact corona charge-based, in-line (capacitance-voltage (C-V) and stress induced leakage current (SILC)) measurements were performed and compared with RTPL and Raman characterization results. Surprisingly, significant variations in RTPL intensity at and near the corona charge-based measurement sites, indicated that the corona-based electrical measurement technique, though non-contact, was indeed invasive. The effect of corona-charge based electrical measurements on SiO 2 /Si interface was permanent and even clearly visible from the back side of the wafer. RTPL intensity variations at and near the measurement sites remained, even after a forming gas anneal. As devices scale to smaller size and complexity of device structures increase, the importance of proper understanding and control of the dielectric/Si interface is increasing. Advanced metal-oxidesemiconductor (MOS) and metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) devices employ ultra thin dielectric gate layers. The physical dimensions are in the range of single digit to double digit nanometers. The effective oxide thickness (EOT) is significantly less than 10 nm. Pure SiO 2 or combinations of SiO 2 and SiN layers are typically used as gate dielectrics. Materials with high dielectric constant (high-k dielectrics) and metal gates are also frequently used, depending on chip design.Conventional interface characterization techniques, such as high resolution cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (HRX-TEM), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and noncontact electrical measurement tools (for example, I-V, C-V and carrier life-time measurements) are either destructive or invasive (including methods which are non-contact, but impact dielectric/Si interface quality).1-3 The purpose of all these characterization techniques is to gain useful insights into dielectric/Si in various dimensions or aspects. While the conventional characterization techniques provide very useful information on many properties of the dielectric/Si interface, they appear unable to provide additional clues to some puzzling dielectric/Si interface problems....

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Corona charging damage on thermal Si/SiO2 structures with nm-thick oxides revealed by electron spin resonance

Cited by 5 publications

References 18 publications

Extracting surface recombination parameters of germanium–dielectric interfaces by corona-lifetime experiments

Extracting surface recombination parameters of germanium–dielectric interfaces by corona-lifetime experiments

Defect generation at the Si–SiO2 interface following corona charging

Ultra-Thin SiO₂/Si Interface Quality In-Line Monitoring Using Multiwavelength Room Temperature Photoluminescence and Raman Spectroscopy

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Corona charging damage on thermal Si/SiO2 structures with nm-thick oxides revealed by electron spin resonance

Cited by 5 publications

References 18 publications

Extracting surface recombination parameters of germanium–dielectric interfaces by corona-lifetime experiments

Extracting surface recombination parameters of germanium–dielectric interfaces by corona-lifetime experiments

Defect generation at the Si–SiO2 interface following corona charging

Ultra-Thin SiO2/Si Interface Quality In-Line Monitoring Using Multiwavelength Room Temperature Photoluminescence and Raman Spectroscopy

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Ultra-Thin SiO₂/Si Interface Quality In-Line Monitoring Using Multiwavelength Room Temperature Photoluminescence and Raman Spectroscopy