Curing defects in plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition of Al2O3 by six methods

An, Jehyun; Choi, Kwang Hyun; Kang, Bohyeon; Baek, Rock‐Hyun

doi:10.1016/j.mssp.2022.107070

Cited by 4 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…H 2 plasma treatment significantly decreased the carbon impurity content in Al 2 O 3 in previous studies [ 10 ], thereby preventing the V fb shift and improving the breakdown characteristics. However, further improvements in the interface quality is required for next-generation CIS devices.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…V fb increased by 0.54 V after PMA in the case of Al 2 O 3 samples with short O 2 plasma exposure times. Internal defects that form bonds with carbon impurities have a negative charge and diffuse toward Si [ 10 , 14 ]. However, in the case of S2 samples with long O 2 plasma exposure times, the change in V fb was as small as 0.2 V owing to a decrease in the defects that can be diffused.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For other reason, as crystallization of Al 2 O 3 occurred due to PMA, defects and dangling bonds acting as traps in the interface region were removed. In addition, crystallization of the Al 2 O 3 dielectric stabilized the bond between the Al 2 O 3 and Si substrate [ 10 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The increased O 2 plasma exposure time sufficiently decreased the D it of the Al 2 O 3 gate stack. Consequently, it showed a considerably lower D it compared with that of the sample processed via rapid thermal annealing and H 2 plasma treatment on Al 2 O 3 , which exhibited the lowest D it in a previous study [ 10 ]. In particular, D it was the lowest after post-metallization annealing (PMA) to Al 2 O 3 samples with increased O 2 plasma exposure time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…These impurities act as traps inside the Al 2 O 3 and in the interface region. Previously, residual carbon was removed using the H 2 plasma treatment of an Al 2 O 3 film [ 10 ]. The quality of the dielectric and interface areas increased with a decrease in carbon impurity contents.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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H2 Plasma and PMA Effects on PEALD-Al2O3 Films with Different O2 Plasma Exposure Times for CIS Passivation Layers

Choi

Park

et al. 2023

Nanomaterials

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In this study, the electrical properties of Al2O3 film were analyzed and optimized to improve the properties of the passivation layer of CMOS image sensors (CISs). During Al2O3 deposition processing, the O2 plasma exposure time was adjusted, and H2 plasma treatment as well as post-metallization annealing (PMA) were performed as posttreatments. The flat-band voltage (Vfb) was significantly shifted (Vfb = 2.54 V) in the case of the Al2O3 film with a shorter O2 plasma exposure time; however, with a longer O2 plasma exposure time, Vfb was slightly shifted (Vfb = 0.61 V) owing to the reduction in the carbon impurity content. Additionally, the as-deposited Al2O3 sample with a shorter O2 plasma exposure time had a larger number of interface traps (interface trap density, Dit = 8.98 × 1013 eV−1·cm−2). However, Dit was reduced to 1.12 × 1012 eV−1·cm−2 by increasing the O2 plasma exposure time and further reduced after PMA. Consequently, we fabricated an Al2O3 film suitable for application as a CIS passivation layer with a reduced number of interface traps. However, the Al2O3 film with increased O2 plasma exposure time deteriorated owing to plasma damage after H2 plasma treatment, which is a method of reducing carbon impurity content. This deterioration was validated using the C–V hump and breakdown characteristics.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 81%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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H2 Plasma and PMA Effects on PEALD-Al2O3 Films with Different O2 Plasma Exposure Times for CIS Passivation Layers

Choi

Park

et al. 2023

Nanomaterials

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Effect of film stress on different electrical properties of PECVD grown SiNx films and its bilayer structures: A study of Si surface passivation strategy

Chavan

Kim

Aziz

et al. 2023

Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing

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Synthesis of low-k SiONC thin films by plasma-assisted molecular layer deposition with tetraisocyanatesilane and phloroglucinol

Park,

Yang,

Kim

et al. 2024

Nanotechnology

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Low-k SiONC thin films with excellent thermal stabilities were deposited using plasma-assisted molecular layer deposition (PA-MLD) with a tetraisocyanatesilane (Si(NCO)4) precursor, N2 plasma, and phloroglucinol (C6H3(OH)3). By adjusting the order of the N2 plasma exposure steps within the PA-MLD process, we successfully developed a deposition technique that allows accurate control of thickness at the Ångström level via self-limiting reactions. The thicknesses of the thin films were measured through spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). By tuning the N2 plasma power, we facilitated the formation of -NH2 sites for phloroglucinol adsorption, achieving a growth per cycle of 0.18 Å/cycle with 300 W of N2 plasma power. Consequently, the thickness of the films increased linearly with each additional cycle. Moreover, the organic linkers within the film formed stable bonds through surface reactions, resulting in a negligible decrease in thickness of approximately −11% even upon exposure to a high annealing temperature of 600 ℃. This observation was confirmed by SE, distinguishing the as-prepared film from previously reported low-k films that fail to maintain their thickness under similar conditions. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and current–voltage (I–V) and capacitance–voltage (C–V) measurement were conducted to evaluate the composition, insulating properties, and dielectric constant according to the deposition and annealing conditions. XPS results revealed that as the plasma power increased from 200 to 300 W, the C/Si ratio increased from 0.37 to 0.67, decreasing the dielectric constant from 3.46 to 3.12. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the composition before and after annealing, and the hysteresis decreased from 0.58 to 0.19 V owing to defect healing, while maintaining the leakage current density, breakdown field, and dielectric constant. The low dielectric constant, accurate thickness control, and excellent thermal stability of this MLD SiONC thin film enable its application as an interlayer dielectric in back-end-of-line process.

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Curing defects in plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition of Al2O3 by six methods

Cited by 4 publications

References 24 publications

H2 Plasma and PMA Effects on PEALD-Al2O3 Films with Different O2 Plasma Exposure Times for CIS Passivation Layers

H2 Plasma and PMA Effects on PEALD-Al2O3 Films with Different O2 Plasma Exposure Times for CIS Passivation Layers

Effect of film stress on different electrical properties of PECVD grown SiNx films and its bilayer structures: A study of Si surface passivation strategy

Synthesis of low-k SiONC thin films by plasma-assisted molecular layer deposition with tetraisocyanatesilane and phloroglucinol

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