Wet oxidation of Al{sub x}Ga{sub 1{minus}x}As: Temporal evolution of composition and microstructure and the implications for metal-insulator-semiconductor applications
- Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185-0603 (United States)
Three important processes dominate the wet thermal oxidation of Al{sub x}Ga{sub 1{minus}x}As on GaAs: (1) oxidation of Al and Ga in the Al{sub x}Ga{sub 1{minus}x}As alloy to form an amorphous oxide, (2) formation and elimination of crystalline and amorphous elemental As and of amorphous As{sub 2}O{sub 3}, and (3) crystallization of the amorphous oxide film. Residual As can lead to strong Fermi-level pinning at the oxidized AlGaAs/GaAs interface, up to a 100-fold increase in leakage current, and a 30{percent} increase in the dielectric constant of the oxide layer. Thermodynamically favored interfacial As may impose a fundamental limitation on the use of AlGaAs wet oxidation in metal-insulatorsemiconductor devices in the GaAs material system. {copyright} {ital 1997 American Institute of Physics.}
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Laboratory
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 496346
- Journal Information:
- Applied Physics Letters, Journal Name: Applied Physics Letters Journal Issue: 18 Vol. 70; ISSN APPLAB; ISSN 0003-6951
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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