Charge Conduction and Breakdown Mechanisms in Self-Assembled Nanodielectrics
Developing alternative high dielectric constant (k) materials for use as gate dielectrics is essential for continued advances in conventional inorganic CMOS and organic thin film transistors (OTFTs). Thicker films of high-k materials suppress tunneling leakage currents while providing effective capacitances comparable to those of thin films of lower-k materials. Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) and multilayers offer attractive options for alternative OTFT gate dielectrics. One class of materials, organosilane-based self-assembled nanodielectrics (SANDs), has been shown to form robust films with excellent insulating and surface passivation properties, enhancing both organic and inorganic TFT performance and lowering device operating voltages. Since gate leakage current through the dielectric is one factor limiting continued TFT performance improvements, we investigate here the current (voltage, temperature) (I (V,T)) transport characteristics of SAND types II ({Pi}-conjugated layer) and III ({sigma}-saturated + {Pi}-conjugated layers) in Si/native SiO{sub 2}/SAND/Au metal-insulator-metal (MIS) devices over the temperature range -60 to +100 C. It is found that the location of the {Pi}-conjugated layer with respect to the Si/SiO{sub 2} substrate surface in combination with a saturated alkylsilane tunneling barrier is crucial in controlling the overall leakage current through the various SAND structures. For small applied voltages, hopping transport dominates at all temperatures for the {Pi}-conjugated system (type II). However, for type III SANDs, the {sigma}- and {Pi}- monolayers dominate the transport in two different transport regimes: hopping between +25 C and +100 C, and an apparent switch to tunneling for temperatures below 25 C. The {sigma}-saturated alkylsilane tunneling barrier functions to reduce type III current leakage by blocking injected electrons, and by enabling bulk-dominated (Poole-Frenkel) transport vs electrode-dominated (Schottky) transport in type II SANDs. These observations provide insights for designing next-generation self-assembled gate dielectrics, since the bulk-dominated transport resulting from combining {sigma}- and {Pi}-layers should enable realization of gate dielectrics with further enhanced performance.
- Research Organization:
- Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). National Synchrotron Light Source
- Sponsoring Organization:
- Doe - Office Of Science
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC02-98CH10886
- OSTI ID:
- 980061
- Report Number(s):
- BNL-92979-2010-JA; JACSAT; TRN: US201015%%1446
- Journal Information:
- Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 131, Issue 20; ISSN 0002-7863
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
BREAKDOWN
CHANNELING
DIELECTRIC MATERIALS
ELECTRIC POTENTIAL
ELECTRONS
EQUIPMENT
FILMS
FUNCTIONS
LAYERS
LEAKAGE CURRENT
LEAKS
MATERIALS
PASSIVATION
PERFORMANCE
PERMITTIVITY
SUBSTRATES
SURFACES
TEMPERATURE RANGE
THIN FILMS
TRANSISTORS
TRANSPORT
TUNNELING
national synchrotron light source