Nitrogen bonding, stability, and transport in AlON films on Si

Abstract

The chemical environment of N in nitrided aluminum oxide films on Si͑001͒ was investigated by angle-resolved x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Two different bonding configurations were identified, namely N-Al and NO -Al, suggesting the formation of the AlN and AlO 2 N compounds. The near-surface region is N-rich and AlN compounds therein are more abundant than AlO 2 N, whereas in bulk regions the proportions of these two compounds are comparable. Rapid thermal annealing at 1000°C for 10 s in vacuum or in low-pressure oxygen atmosphere led to the breakage of N-Al bonds in AlN, releasing N and Al. The mobile N is partly lost by desorption from the surface and partly fixed by reacting with the network to form AlO 2 N. The released Al atoms, which remain immobile, react with oxygen from the film or from the gas phase. Characterization of the films outermost surfaces by low-energy ion scattering revealed that the migration of Si atoms from the substrate across the films, reaching the surface and being oxidized therein, is not entirely inhibited in AlON/Si, although this migration is largely reduced as compared to nonnitrided Al 2 O 3 films.

Microstructure and thermal stability of amorphous SiBCNAl powders fabricated by mechanical alloying

“…The characteristic peaks at 73.5 eV and 397 eV were identified as Al2p and N1s signals of the Al-N bond, respectively [23,24]. The peaks at 75.6 eV (Al2p), 531.7 eV (O1s) and 401.6 eV (N1s) may reflect the existence of Al-O-N bonds [25][26][27]. The O element in Al-O-N bond may be derived from Al 2 O 3 covering the surfaces of the Al particles used as starting material and a trace amount of oxygen in the argon gas used in the milling.…”

“…Zirconia pencil rotors were used, and spun at the magic angle with a spinning rate of 5 kHz for Si and 12 kHz for Al. 27 Al spectra were referenced to aqueous Al(NO3)3 (0 ppm). 29 Si spectra were referenced to tetrakis-trimethylsilyl-silane, which was itself referenced to tetramethylsilane (TMS) at 0 ppm.…”

XPS analysis of aluminum nitride films deposited by plasma source molecular beam epitaxy

“…This subpeak, with a binding energy of less than 400.7 eV, was given the N1s-O assignment. In the other method, [26,27,30,31] two well-resolved N1s peaks were observed: one peak in the 396 to 400 eV range and the second peak ranging from 402.2 to 405.1 eV. The second, higher binding energy peak was given the N1s-O assignment.…”

Characterization of interface states in Al2O3/AlGaN/GaN structures for improved performance of high-electron-mobility transistors

“…8(b), we also confirmed the small presence of the N-O bonding peak at around 402.5 eV for the N 2 O-radical treated AlGaN surface. 27,31,32 Although the mechanism is not clear yet, it is likely that the monolayer-level formation of the AlGa-oxide layer prepared by the N 2 O-radical treatment is effective in reducing electronic states at the Al 2 O 3 /AlGaN interface.…”