Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-r7xzm Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-27T15:58:48.437Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

HRTEM Image Simulations of Structural Defects in Gate Oxides

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2020

S. Taylor
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA94720 National Center for Electron Microscopy, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA94720
J. Mardinly
Affiliation:
Intel Corporation, Materials Technology Department, Santa Clara, CA95052
M.A. O'Keefe
Affiliation:
National Center for Electron Microscopy, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA94720
R. Gronsky
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA94720 National Center for Electron Microscopy, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA94720
Get access

Extract

High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) is used extensively in the semiconductor industry for device characterization, and has become one of the highly favored techniques for characterizing the latest generation of ultra-thin gate oxides in MOSFET devices. However, relatively little is understood (either quantitatively or experimentally) about the limitations of HRTEM in detecting structural defects in gate oxides that could affect device performance. To investigate model defects experimentally, it would be necessary to construct “perfect” gate oxides, introduce defects with size and morphology known perfectly a priori, successfully make thin specimens that capture the defects, and then perform imaging experiments in the HRTEM. Since that task is virtually impossible, we have performed HRTEM image simulations to assess the visibility of various structural defects in gate oxides. The gate oxide was modeled as an amorphous silicon oxide 16.3Å-thick, sandwiched between a gate and substrate. The substrate was (100) silicon viewed along the [110] direction.

Type
Semiconductors
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References:

1.Cowley, J.M. and Moodie, A.F., Acta Cryst. 10 (1957) 609.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2. This work was funded by the Intel Corporation. Access to computing facilities at the National Center for Electron Microscopy is gratefully acknowledged.Google Scholar