La₂O₃ is one of the candidate materials for the next-generation high-k gate stacks because it can achieve sub-1 nm EOT by forming direct-contact La silicate with Si. There have been many ALD studies for La₂O₃, however, the performance of the MOSFETs incorporating ALD-La₂O₃ needs much improvement. Our previous studies using EB evaporation showed that capping the La₂O₃ dielectrics with an ultrathin layer of CeO₂ or metallic Mg (~1 nm) effectively improved the channel mobility [1,2]. In this paper, we report fabrication of CeO₂/La₂O₃ and MgO/La₂O₃ gate stacks by ALD/CVD for the first time, and demonstrate that these stacks show improved electrical properties (k value, channel mobility, etc.) as compared to single-layer ALD-La₂O₃.

The experiments were carried out using a multi-chamber ALD/CVD system which was capable of in-situ metallization and RTA. The CeO₂/La₂O₃ and MgO/La₂O₃ gate stacks were formed on H-terminated Si(100) using Ce[OCEt₂Me]₄, La(ⁱPrCp)₃, and Mg(EtCp)₂ metal sources. La­₂O₃ and MgO films were formed by ALD using H₂O as an oxidant. The ALD temperature was set at a relatively low temperature of 175°C in order to ensure the self-limiting growth [3]. CeO₂ films were formed in the CVD mode via thermal decomposition of Ce[OCEt₂Me]₄ at 350^oC. The gate electrodes were formed by sputtering of W. MOSFETs were fabricated by the gate-last process.

The effective k values for the CeO₂(1nm)/La₂O₃(3nm) and MgO(0.8nm)/La₂O₃(4nm) stack capacitors were approximately 16, which was significantly larger than those for La silicate without any capping layer (k=10~12). The k-value improvement by the CeO₂ capping is presumably due to the higher k value of CeO₂ (~23), whereas the improvement by the MgO capping is ascribed to suppression of excessive La-silicate formation.

We have also found that the CeO₂/La₂O₃ gate stack leads to excellent mobility characteristics. The mobility for the MOSFET with 1.43 nm EOT was 214 cm²/Vs at an effective field of 1.0 MV/cm, which was 85% of the Si universal mobility. The mobility improvement by the CeO₂ capping is attributed to the reduced fixed-charge density, since V_th approached to the ideal values by the CeO₂ capping. On the other hand, the MgO capping induced a negative shift in V_th and consistently degraded the mobility. These effects of ALD-MgO capping are qualitatively different from those observed for EB-evaporated Mg [2]. The mechanisms causing such a difference between EB evaporation and ALD are now under investigation.

This work was carried out in Leading Research Project for Development of Innovative Energy Conservation Technologies supported by NEDO.

References: [1] T. Koyanagi, et al., JJAP, 48, 05DC02 (2009); [2] M. Kouda, et al., 2009 VLSI Symp., p. 200; [3] K. Ozawa, et al.,2010 ICSICT, p. 932.

Ultra-thin, nanometer-scale metal or metallic films are a crucial component in e.g. several applications of modern MEMS/NEMS (Micro/NanoElectroMechanical Systems) and other advanced IC technologies, sensors, optical devices and catalyst manufacturing. When the component sizes keep diminishing and at the same time, the level of system integration increasing (for example the so-called “System-in-a-Package” multifunctional chip devices), it creates a drive from “conventional” 2D device architecture to 3D component integration. Through Silicon Vias (TSV) are a central structure in these 3D-stacked devices and there’s often a need to produce highly uniform and conformal thin films of metals or otherwise conducting materials on the insides of the vias. Due to the often very high aspect ratio (AR) of the TSV structures, Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) is one of the only methods with which reliably uniform and conformal material layers can be deposited on the via walls.

Industrially upscalable ALD processes were developed for several metals and metallic compounds, i.e. Pt, Ir, Ru, Cu, Ag, Au, TiN and TiAlCN. Deposition of metals can be done with thermal ALD and plasma-enhanced (PEALD). The main benefits of the PEALD technique are the possibility to use reductive processes instead of oxygen, lower deposition temperatures which decreases the thermal stress on the substrates, and a wider variety of precursor chemicals.

Inductively coupled remote plasma source system was further developed to reduce any possibility of plasma damage, which can often happen in the more conventionally designed, direct plasma devices. Instead of direct ion bombardment, our plasma system utilizes highly reactive radicals. Protective flows and separating metal precursor inlets shield the plasma source from getting short-circuited by films from precursor back-diffusion. E.g. N₂/ H₂, H₂/Ar, O₂ and mixed gas plasmas can be generated with the system.

Structural design solutions were optimized for ALD reactors. Top flow delivery of the precursor gases ensures even distribution of reactive molecules inside the reactor vessel. This is beneficial especially in the case of non-optimal processes with precursor decomposition or etching or poisoning of reactive sites by reaction by-products. Less impurity and thickness gradient scan be achieved with the top flow, compared to the side-flow (cross-flow) design since all the area reacts at the same time leaving less reactive sites left for reaction with the by-products. Therefore, it is possible to get more challenging reaction chemistries working with the top-flow design, and also a forced flow for through-porous samples is possible. With modified stopped flow design, extended reaction time inside the chamber can be reached while still keeping the protective flows from the inlets on to prevent any back-diffusion of precursor and subsequent particle formation in the inlet lines.

Upscalable structure was specifically designed to bridge the gap between R&D and production. Smaller ALD tools can be used for process and chemical precursor development at for universities and research labs, whereas the larger, ALD tools can be fully automatized, upscaled and clustered into full scale high volume throughput industrial production unit capable of coating even several thousands of wafers per hour.

Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) is a unique thin film deposition process, capable of producing coatings with unmatched quality and performance. Its unique attributes include high conformality and outstanding thickness precision, enabling the deposition of dense, continuous pinhole-free films, even when extremely thin, and even on highly imperfect substrate surfaces. These qualities have made the process attractive for applications on flexible substrates, including dielectrics and semiconductors for flexible electronics devices, and high performance gas diffusion barriers to encapsulate and protect environmentally sensitive devices such as OLED displays and lighting, and CIGS photovoltaic modules.