Influence of thermal processing on the electrical characteristics of MOS capacitors on strained-silicon substrates
File(s)
Journal
Thin Solid Films
Date Issued
November 3, 2008
Abstract
In this work the influence of thermal oxidation and subsequent thermal processing on the electrical characteristics of strained-Silicon (s-Si), MOS capacitors was studied. Strained-Si/Si1 − xGex/Si substrates of two different strain levels (10% and 22% Ge content) were oxidized within the temperature range of 800 °C to 900 °C for various time intervals. Capacitance-Voltage measurements reveal that the response of the MOS capacitors depends mainly upon two factors: a) the extend of the s-Si layer oxidation, i.e. the remaining s-Si thickness and b) the duration of the post-oxidation annealing in inert ambient. Both factors influence the interfacial properties of the structures. Additional oxidation experiments in N2O ambient indicate a significant influence of the process conditions on the quality of the oxidized structures.