Properties of gate quality silicon dioxide films deposited on Si–Ge using remote plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition with no preoxidation

Abstract

${\mathrm{SiO}}_2$ films were deposited on Si–Ge using a low temperature (300 °C) remote plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition (RPCVD) process. A novel feature of this process is that it does not require a preoxidation step prior to deposition. The electrical properties of the resulting oxide films were analyzed, indicating good interfacial ${\mathrm{(D}}_{\mathrm{it}}{\text{∼3×10}}^{11} {\mathrm{cm}}^{\text{−2}} {\mathrm{eV}}^{\text{−1}})$ and excellent breakdown properties ${\mathrm{(E}}_{\mathrm{bd}}\text{∼10\hspace{0.05em}}\mathrm{MV/cm}\mathrm{).}$ Electron trapping was determined to be the dominant charge trapping mechanism. Interfacial properties and oxide reliability were seen to improve upon annealing at moderately high (550–650 °C) temperatures.