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Title: Controlling the defects and transition layer in SiO2 films grown on 4H-SiC via direct plasma-assisted oxidation

Journal Article · · Scientific Reports
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/srep34945· OSTI ID:1624861
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [4];  [1]
  1. Yonsei Univ., Seoul (Korea)
  2. Yonsei Univ., Wonju (Korea)
  3. Seonam Univ., Namwon (Korea)
  4. Samsung, Hwaseong-si (Korea)
+ Show Author Affiliations

The structural stability and electrical performance of SiO2 grown on SiC via direct plasma-assisted oxidation were investigated. To investigate the changes in the electronic structure and electrical characteristics caused by the interfacial reaction between the SiO2 film (thickness ~5 nm) and SiC, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), density functional theory (DFT) calculations, and electrical measurements were performed. The SiO2 films grown via direct plasma-assisted oxidation at room temperature for 300s exhibited significantly decreased concentrations of silicon oxycarbides (SiOxCy) in the transition layer compared to that of conventionally grown (i.e., thermally grown) SiO2 films. Moreover, the plasma-assisted SiO2 films exhibited enhanced electrical characteristics, such as reduced frequency dispersion, hysteresis, and interface trap density (Dit ≈ 1011 cm-2 · eV-1). In particular, stress induced leakage current (SILC) characteristics showed that the generation of defect states can be dramatically suppressed in metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) structures with plasma-assisted oxide layer due to the formation of stable Si-O bonds and the reduced concentrations of SiOxCy species defect states in the transition layer. That is, energetically stable interfacial states of high quality SiO2 on SiC can be obtained by the controlling the formation of SiOxCy through the highly reactive direct plasma-assisted oxidation process.

Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); Samsung Electronics; Yonsei University
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-98CH10886
OSTI ID:
1624861
Journal Information:
Scientific Reports, Vol. 6, Issue 1; ISSN 2045-2322
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 27 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (4)

Effect of pulsed UV laser irradiation on 4H-SiC MOS with thermal gate oxide journal January 2020
On the unusual amber coloration of nanoporous sol-gel processed Al-doped silica glass: An experimental study journal August 2019
High-pressure microwave plasma oxidation of 4H-SiC with low interface trap density journal December 2019
Solvent-Free Process for the Development of Photocatalytic Membranes journal December 2019

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