Rapid thermally annealed plasma deposited SiNx : H thin films: Application to metal-insulator-semiconductor structures with Si, In0.53Ga0.47As, and InP

© 2003 American Institute of Physics. The authors gratefully acknowledge Dr. M. N. Blanco and Dr. E. Redondo for the fruitful collaboration with them in recent years. They also wish to express their deep gratitude to Dr. B. Selle, Dr. I Sieber, Dr. W. Bohne, Dr. J. Röhrich, Dr. Kliefoth, Dr. W. Füssel, and in general, to the people of the Hahn-Meitner Institut in Berlin, for a long friendship and fruitful collaboration. Thanks are also due to Professor F. López and Professor D. Bravo (Materials Department, Autónoma University of Madrid) for ESR measurements. Last, but no least, technical assistance received from the people of the ion implantation facility (CAI—Implantación Iónica) of the Complutense University of Madrid (P. Fernández and R. Cimas) is greatly acknowledge. The financial support of this work was partially done by the Spanish National Office for Science and Technology under Grant Nos. TIC 98-0740 and TIC 2001-1253.
We present in this article a comprehensive study of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) effects on the physical properties of SiNx:H thin films deposited by the electron cyclotron resonance plasma method. Films of different as-deposited compositions (defined in this article as the nitrogen to silicon ratio, x=N/Si) were analyzed: from Si-rich (x=0.97) to N-rich (x=1.6) films. The evolution of the composition, bonding configuration, and paramagnetic defects with the annealing temperature are explained by means of different network bond reactions that take place depending on the as-deposited film composition. All the analyzed films release hydrogen, while Si-rich and near-stoichiometric (x=1.43) ones also lose nitrogen upon annealing. These films were used to make Al/SiNx:H/semiconductor devices with Si, In0.53Ga0.47As, and InP. After RTA treatments, the electrical properties of the three different SiNx:H/semiconductor interfaces can be explained, noting the microstructural modifications that SiNx:H experiences upon annealing.
Spanish National Office for Science and Technology
Depto. de Estructura de la Materia, Física Térmica y Electrónica
Fac. de Ciencias Físicas
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