Evgueni Chagarov

Atomically abrupt and unpinned Al2O3/In0.53Ga0.47As interfaces: Experiment and simulation

III-V semiconductor field effect transistors require an insulator/channel interface with a low density of electrically active defects and a minimal interface dipole to avoid Fermi level pinning. We demonstrate that an atomically abrupt and unpinned interface can be formed between an In0.53Ga0.47As (100) channel and an Al2O3 dielectric layer grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) when oxidation of the substrate surface is prevented before and during oxide deposition. X-ray photoelectron spectra and electron microscopy indicate that in situ desorption of a protective As2 layer on the In0.53Ga0.47As (100)−4×2 surface followed by ALD of Al2O3 produced an atomically abrupt interface without Fermi level pinning. Temperature-dependent and frequency-dependent capacitance-voltage and conductance-voltage analysis of the resulting Pt/Al2O3/InGaAs capacitors are consistent with movement of the Fermi level through the InGaAs band gap. Moreover, the nearly ideal flat band voltages observed for gate metals of widely var...

Ag2ZnSn(S,Se)4: A highly promising absorber for thin film photovoltaics

The growth in efficiency of earth-abundant kesterite Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 (CZTSSe) solar cells has slowed, due in part to the intrinsic limitations imposed by the band tailing attributed primarily to I-II antisite exchange. In this study, density functional theory simulations show that when Ag is substituted for Cu to form kesterite Ag2ZnSnSe4 (AZTSe), the I-II isolated antisite formation energy becomes 3.7 times greater than in CZTSSe, resulting in at least an order of magnitude reduction in I-II antisite density. Experimental evidence of an optoelectronically improved material is also provided. Comparison of the low-temperature photoluminescence (PL) structure of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGSe), CZTSSe, and AZTSe shows that AZTSe has a shallow defect structure with emission significantly closer to the band edge than CZTSe. Existence of suppressed band tailing is found in the proximity of the room-temperature PL peak of AZTSe to its measured band gap. The results are consistent with AZTSe being a promising alternative to CZTSSe and CIGSe for thin film photovoltaics.

III–V FET channel designs for high current densities and thin inversion layers

III–V FETs are being developed for potential application in 0.3–3 THz systems and VLSI. To increase bandwidth, we must increase the drive current I<inf>d</inf> = qn<inf>s</inf> v<inf>inj</inf>W<inf>g</inf> per unit gate width W<inf>g</inf>, requiring both high sheet carrier concentrations n<inf>s</inf> and high injection velocities v<inf>inj</inf>. Present III–V NFETs restrict control region transport to the single isotropic Γ band minimum. As the gate dielectric is thinned, I<inf>d</inf> becomes limited by the effective mass m*, and is only increased by using materials with increased m* and hence increased transit times.¹ The deep wavefunction also makes Γ -valley transport in low-m*materials unsuitable for < 22-nm gate length (L<inf>g</inf>) FETs. Yet, the L-valleys in many III–V materials² have very low transverse m<inf>t</inf> and very high longitudinal mass m<inf>1</inf>. L-valley bound state energies depend upon orientation, and the directions of confinement, growth, and transport can be chosen to selectively populate valleys having low mass in the transport direction^3,4. The high perpendicular mass permits placement of multiple quantum wells spaced by a few nm, or population of multiple states of a thicker well spaced by ∼10–100 meV. Using combinations of Γ and L valleys, n<inf>s</inf> can be increased, m* kept low, and vertical confinement improved, key requirements for <20-nm L<inf>g</inf> III–V FETs.

Atomic imaging of the monolayer nucleation and unpinning of a compound semiconductor surface during atomic layer deposition

The reaction of trimethyl aluminum on the group III rich reconstructions of InAs(0 0 1) and In(0.53)Ga(0.47)As(0 0 1) is observed with scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy. At high coverage, a self-terminated ordered overlayer is observed that provides the monolayer nucleation density required for subnanometer thick transistor gate oxide scaling and removes the surface Fermi level pinning that is present on the clean InGaAs surface. Density functional theory simulations confirm that an adsorbate-induced reconstruction is the basis of the monolayer nucleation density and passivation.

Arsenic decapping and pre-atomic layer deposition trimethylaluminum passivation of Al2O3/InGaAs(100) interfaces

The interrelated effects of initial surface preparation and precursor predosing on defect passivation of atomic layer deposited (ALD) Al2O3/InGaAs(100) interfaces are investigated. Interface trap distributions are characterized by capacitance-voltage and conductance-voltage analysis of metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors. Thermal desorption conditions for a protective As2 layer on the InGaAs surface and dosing conditions of trimethylaluminum prior to ALD-Al2O3 are varied to alter the interface trap densities. Experimental results are consistent with the predictions of ab initio electronic structure calculations showing that trimethylaluminum dosing of the As-rich In0.53Ga0.47As(100) surface suppresses interface traps by passivating As dangling bonds prior to the initiation of Al2O3 deposition.

Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of properties of a-Al2O3 /vacuum and a-ZrO2 /vacuum vs a-Al2O3∕Ge(100)(2×1) and a-ZrO2∕Ge(100)(2×1) interfaces

The local atomic structural properties of a-Al(2)O(3), a-ZrO(2) vacuum/oxide surfaces, and a-Al(2)O(3)Ge(100)(2x1), a-ZrO(2)Ge(100)(2x1) oxide/semiconductor interfaces were investigated by density-functional theory (DFT) molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Realistic a-Al(2)O(3) and a-ZrO(2) bulk samples were generated using a hybrid classical-DFT MD approach. The interfaces were formed by annealing at 700 and 1100 K with subsequent cooling and relaxation. The a-Al(2)O(3) and a-ZrO(2) vacuum/oxide interfaces have strong oxygen enrichment. The a-Al(2)O(3)Ge interface demonstrates strong chemical selectivity with interface bonding exclusively through Al-O-Ge bonds. The a-ZrO(2)Ge interface has roughly equal number of Zr-O-Ge and O-Zr-Ge bonds. The a-Al(2)O(3)Ge junction creates a much more polar interface, greater deformation in Ge substrate and interface intermixing than a-ZrO(2)Ge consistent with experimental measurements. The differences in semiconductor deformation are consistent with the differences in the relative bulk moduli and angular distribution functions of the two oxides.

Generation of Realistic Amorphous Al2O3 And ZrO2 Samples By Hybrid Classical and First-Principle Molecular Dynamics Simulations

The rapid scaling of complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology requires substituting the traditional gate oxide, SiO2, with highdielectrics, which can maintain the same capacitance with much lower leakage current. Amorphous aluminum and zirconium oxides (a-Al2O3 and a-ZrO2) are leading candidates for such highgate oxide materials on Ge. Ge is one of a few semiconductors that offer significantly higher hole mobility than silicon and is being extensively investigated for p-channel high-k MOSFETs. (1-3).

Preparation of gallium nitride surfaces for atomic layer deposition of aluminum oxide

A combined wet and dry cleaning process for GaN(0001) has been investigated with XPS and DFT-MD modeling to determine the molecular-level mechanisms for cleaning and the subsequent nucleation of gate oxide atomic layer deposition (ALD). In situ XPS studies show that for the wet sulfur treatment on GaN(0001), sulfur desorbs at room temperature in vacuum prior to gate oxide deposition. Angle resolved depth profiling XPS post-ALD deposition shows that the a-Al2O3 gate oxide bonds directly to the GaN substrate leaving both the gallium surface atoms and the oxide interfacial atoms with XPS chemical shifts consistent with bulk-like charge. These results are in agreement with DFT calculations that predict the oxide/GaN(0001) interface will have bulk-like charges and a low density of band gap states. This passivation is consistent with the oxide restoring the surface gallium atoms to tetrahedral bonding by eliminating the gallium empty dangling bonds on bulk terminated GaN(0001).

III-V MOSFETs: Scaling laws, scaling limits, fabrication processes

III-V FETs are in development for both THz and VLSI applications. In VLSI, high drive currents are sought at low gate drive voltages, while in THz circuits, high cutoff frequencies are required. In both cases, source and drain access resistivities must be decreased, and transconductance and drain current per unit gate width must be increased by reducing the gate dielectric thickness, reducing the inversion layer depth, and increasing the channel 2-DEG density of states. We here describe both nm self-aligned fabrication processes and channel designs to address these scaling limits.

Scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy study of atomic and electronic structures of In2O on InAs and In0.53Ga0.47As(001)-(4×2) surfaces

Interfacial bonding geometry and electronic structures of In(2)O on InAs and In(0.53)Ga(0.47)As(001)-(4×2) have been investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy/scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STM/STS). STM images show that the In(2)O forms an ordered monolayer on both InAs and InGaAs surfaces. In(2)O deposition on the InAs(001)-(4×2) surface does not displace any surface atoms during both room temperature deposition and postdeposition annealing. Oxygen atoms from In(2)O molecules bond with trough In/Ga atoms on the surface to form a new layer of O-In/Ga bonds, which restore many of the strained trough In/Ga atoms into more bulklike tetrahedral sp(3) bonding environments. STS reveals that for both p-type and n-type clean In(0.53)Ga(0.47)As(001)-(4×2) surfaces, the Fermi level resides near the valence band maximum (VBM); however, after In(2)O deposition and postdeposition annealings, the Fermi level position is close to the VBM for p-type samples and close to the conduction band minimum for n-type samples. This result indicates that In(2)O bonding eliminates surface states within the bandgap and forms an unpinned interface when bonding with In(0.53)Ga(0.47)As/InP(001)-(4×2). Density function theory is used to confirm the experimental finding.