R. Droopad

Field effect transistors with SrTiO3 gate dielectric on Si

SrTiO3 has been grown epitaxially by molecular beam epitaxy on Si. The capacitance of this 110 A dielectric film is electrically equivalent to less than 10 A of SiO2. This structure has been used to make capacitors and metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors. The interface trap density between the SrTiO3 and the Si is 6.4×1010 states/cm2 eV and the inversion layer mobility is 221 and 62 cm2/V s for n- and p-channel devices, respectively. The gate leakage in these devices is two orders of magnitude smaller than a similar SiO2 gate dielectric field effect transistor.

Epitaxial BiFeO3 thin films on Si

BiFeO3 was studied as an alternative environmentally clean ferro/piezoelectric material. 200-nm-thick BiFeO3 films were grown on Si substrates with SrTiO3 as a template layer and SrRuO3 as bottom electrode. X-ray and transmission electron microscopy studies confirmed the epitaxial growth of the films. The spontaneous polarization of the films was ∼45μC∕cm2. Retention measurement up to several days showed no decay of polarization. A piezoelectric coefficient (d33) of ∼60pm∕V was observed, which is promising for applications in micro-electro-mechanical systems and actuators.

Band discontinuities at epitaxial SrTiO3/Si(001) heterojunctions

We have used photoemission methods to directly measure the valence and conduction band offsets at SrTiO3/Si(001) interfaces, as prepared by molecular-beam epitaxy. Within experimental error, the measured values are the same for growth on n- and p-Si, with the entire band discontinuity occurring at the valence band edge. In addition, band bending is much larger at the p-Si heterojunction than at the n-type heterojunction. Previously published threshold voltage behavior for these interfaces can now be understood in light of the present results.

Epitaxial oxide thin films on Si(001)

Over the years, the development of epitaxial oxides on silicon has been a great technological challenge. Amorphous silicon oxide layer forms quickly at the interface when the Si surface is exposed to oxygen, making the intended oxide heteroepitaxy on Si substrate extremely difficult. Epitaxial oxides such as BaTiO3 (BTO) and SrTiO3 (STO) integrated with Si are highly desirable for future generation transistor gate dielectric and ferroelectric memory cell applications. In this article, we review the recent progress in the heteroepitaxy of oxide thin films on Si(001) substrate by using the molecular beam epitaxy technique at Motorola Labs. Structural, interfacial and electrical properties of the oxide thin films on Si have been characterized using in situ reflection high energy electron diffraction, x-ray diffraction, spectroscopic ellipsometry, atomic force microscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution transmissi...

Two-dimensional growth of high-quality strontium titanate thin films on Si

Most semiconductor materials such as Si, Ge, and GaAs are subject to oxidation when exposed to oxidants. This results in difficulties in the heterointegration of epitaxial oxides on these semiconductors. Even though certain oxides may be thermodynamically stable when placed in contact with semiconductors, direct epitaxy of these oxides encounters kinetic difficulties due to the loss of epitaxy caused by the formation of an amorphous oxide at the interface. In this article, we address some important issues on the heteroepitaxy of oxides on semiconductors and show a stepped growth method that utilizes the kinetic characteristics of the growth process to suppress the oxidation of the substrate surface and thereby achieve oxide films with a high degree of crystallinity. The epitaxy of high-quality SrTiO3 (STO) thin films directly on Si was achieved. The chemical and structural properties of the STO/Si interface were evaluated in situ using reflection high-energy electron diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spect...

Epitaxial ferroelectric Pb(Zr, Ti)O3 thin films on Si using SrTiO3 template layers

In this letter, we report on the integration of epitaxial ferroelectric Pb(Zr, Ti)O3 (PZT) thin films on Si [100] substrates using a SrTiO3 (STO) template layer and a conducting perovskite (La0.5Sr0.5)CoO3 electrode. X-ray diffraction studies reveal both in-plane and out-of-plane alignment of the heterostructure. The epitaxial films show extremely high remnant polarization as well as piezoelectric d33 coefficients compared to textured and untextured polycrystalline films.

Realizing intrinsic piezoresponse in epitaxial submicron lead zirconate titanate capacitors on Si

We report on the out-of-plane piezoelectric response (d33), measured via piezoresponse scanning force microscopy, of submicron capacitors fabricated from epitaxial PbZrxTi1−xO3 thin films. Investigations on 1 μm2 and smaller capacitors show that the substrate-induced constraint is dramatically reduced by nanostructuring. At zero field, the experimentally measured values of d33 for clamped as well as submicron capacitors are in good agreement with the predictions from thermodynamic theory. The theory also describes very well the field dependence of the piezoresponse of clamped capacitors of key compositions on the tetragonal side of the PbZrxTi1−xO3 phase diagram as well as the behavior of submicron PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3 (hard ferroelectric) capacitors. However, the field-dependent piezoresponse of submicron capacitors in compositions closer to the morphotropic phase boundary (soft ferroelectrics) is different from the behavior predicted by the theoretical calculations.

Self-aligned GaAs p-channel enhancement mode MOS heterostructure field-effect transistor

Self-aligned GaAs enhancement mode MOS heterostructure field-effect transistors (MOS-HFET) have been successfully fabricated for the first time. The MOS devices employ a Ga/sub 2/O/sub 3/ gate oxide, an undoped Al/sub 0.75/Ga/sub 0.25/As spacer layer, and undoped In/sub 0.2/Ga/sub 0.8/As as channel layer. The p-channel devices with a gate length of 0.6 /spl mu/m exhibit a maximum DC transconductance g/sub m/ of 51 mS/mm which is an improvement of more than two orders of magnitude over previously reported results. With the demonstration of a complete process flow and 66% of theoretical performance, GaAs MOS technology has moved into the realm of reality.

Band offset and structure of SrTiO3 /Si(001) heterojunctions

We have measured the band offsets and materials properties of epitaxial SrTiO3/Si(001) heterojunctions for both n and p substrates, with and without an interfacial SiO2 layer. The through-air transfer from the growth chamber to the photoemission system results in significant surface hydroxylation and roughening, although the SrTiO3–Si interface is undisturbed. Surface hydroxylation notwithstanding, the structural quality of 20 A thick epitaxial SrTiO3 on Si(001) is comparable to that of bulk SrTiO3(001). We find valence and conduction band offsets of ∼2.1 and ∼0.0 eV, respectively, independent of doping type and the presence of SiO2. These results are consistent with theoretical band offset predictions based on the electron affinity rule, modified by the presence of an interface dipole.

High mobility NMOSFET structure with high-/spl kappa/ dielectric

High-/spl kappa/ NMOSFET structures designed for enhancement mode operation have been fabricated with mobilities exceeding 6000 cm/sup 2//Vs. The NMOSFET structures which have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy on 3-in semi-insulating GaAs substrate comprise a 10 nm strained InGaAs channel layer and a high-/spl kappa/ dielectric layer (/spl kappa//spl cong/20). Electron mobilities of >6000 and 3822 cm/sup 2//Vs have been measured for sheet carrier concentrations n/sub s/ of 2-3/spl times/10/sup 12/ and /spl cong/5.85/spl times/10/sup 12/ cm/sup -2/, respectively. Sheet resistivities as low as 280 /spl Omega//sq. have been obtained.