Abstract
Ultrathin HfTaOx gate dielectric has been deposited on Si0.81Ge0.19 by RF co-sputtering of HfO2 and Ta2O5 targets. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) analyses indicate an interfacial layer containing GeOx, Hf silicate, SiOx (layer of Hf-Si- Ge-O) formation during deposition of HfTaOx. No evidence of Ta-silicate or Ta incorporation was found at the interface. X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) measurements show that as-deposited HfTaOx films are amorphous; however, the crystallization temperature of HfTaOx film is found to increase significantly after annealing beyond 500 degrees C (for 5 min) along with the incorporation of Ta (with 18% Ta). It has been found that HfTaOx gate dielectric on Si0.81Ge0.19 exhibit excellent electrical properties with low interface state density (similar to 6.0x10(11) cm(-2)eV(-1)) and hysteresis voltage (<70 mV). Charge trapping/detrapping behavior of the gate stacks has been studied under constant voltage stressing and the degradation mechanism of the dielectrics has been studied in detail.