Comparison of the vacuum-ultraviolet radiation response of HfO{sub 2}/SiO{sub 2}/Si dielectric stacks with SiO{sub 2}/Si
- Plasma Processing and Technology Laboratory, and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 (United States)
Vacuum ultraviolet (vuv) emitted during plasma processing degrades dielectrics by generating electron-hole pairs. VUV-induced charging of SiO{sub 2}/p-Si and HfO{sub 2}/SiO{sub 2}/p-Si dielectric stacks are compared. For SiO{sub 2}/p-Si, charging is observed for photon energies >15 eV by ionization of dielectric atoms from photoinjected electrons. In HfO{sub 2}/SiO{sub 2}/p-Si, charging is observed for photon >10 eV and is due to ionization by photoinjected electrons and by H{sup +} trapping in the HfO{sub 2}/SiO{sub 2} bulk. Hydrogen appears during annealing at the Si-SiO{sub 2} interface forming Si-H, which, during irradiation, is depassivated by photoinjected electrons. The authors conclude that dielectric charging in thin oxides (<10 nm) occurs more easily in HfO{sub 2}/SiO{sub 2} than in SiO{sub 2}.
- OSTI ID:
- 20971825
- Journal Information:
- Applied Physics Letters, Journal Name: Applied Physics Letters Journal Issue: 7 Vol. 90; ISSN APPLAB; ISSN 0003-6951
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Photo-induced tunneling currents in MOS structures with various HfO{sub 2}/SiO{sub 2} stacking dielectrics
Plasma and vacuum ultraviolet induced charging of SiO{sub 2} and HfO{sub 2} patterned structures