Effect of nitrogen on electrical and physical properties of polyatomic layer chemical vapor deposition HfSxOy gate dielectrics

The effect of nitrogen incorporation on polyatomic layer chemical vapor deposition (PLCVD) hafnium silicate (HfSixOy) films was investigated. The physical and electrical properties of nitride hafnium silicate (HfSixOyNz) and HfSixOy dielectric films are reported. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to check chemical compositions, nitrogen profile, band gap, and band offset of the HfSixOy and HfSixOyNz films. The nitrogen incorporation results in decreases in the band gap and band offset of the HfSixOy sample. The nitrogen profile obtained by secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) shows a gradient decrease from the surface to the interface. The prepared HfSixOy and HfSixOyNz films have reasonable electrical performance.