Comprehensive physical and electrical characterizations of NO nitrided SiO/4H-SiC(110) interfaces

NO窒化SiO/4H-SiC(110)界面の物理的および電気的特性の包括的評価

中沼 貴澄*; 岩片 悠*; 渡部 ありさ*; 細井 卓治*; 小林 拓真*; 染谷 満*; 岡本 光央*; 吉越 章隆 ; 志村 考功*; 渡部 平司*

Nakanuma, Takato*; Iwakata, Yu*; Watanabe, Arisa*; Hosoi, Takuji*; Kobayashi, Takuma*; Sometani, Mitsuru*; Okamoto, Mitsuo*; Yoshigoe, Akitaka; Shimura, Takayoshi*; Watanabe, Heiji*

本研究ではSiC(110)面のNO窒化過程を詳細に観察し、MOSキャパシタの電気的特性への影響を調べた。具体的には、走査型X線光電子分光法によりサブナノメートルオーダの窒素分布プロファイリングを行った。その結果、窒化は(0001)面よりもはるかに速く進行し、界面の窒素濃度は約2.3倍であった。暗所および紫外線照射下で容量-電圧()測定を行い、伝導帯端/価電子帯端近傍の欠陥や、ヒステリシス・シフトを引き起こす欠陥を評価した。これらの欠陥は、窒化の進行とともに失活化されたが、過度の窒化は逆に電気的特性の劣化を招くことが分かった。以上の実験結果をもとに、NO窒化の最適条件を議論した。

Nitridation of SiO/4H-SiC(110) interfaces with post-oxidation annealing in an NO ambient (NO-POA) and its impact on the electrical properties were investigated. Sub-nm-resolution nitrogen depth profiling at the interfaces was conducted by using a scanning X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy microprobe. The results showed that nitrogen atoms were incorporated just at the interface and that interface nitridation proceeded much faster than at SiO/SiC(0001) interfaces, resulting in a 2.3 times higher nitrogen concentration. Electrical characterizations of metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors were conducted through capacitance-voltage () measurements in the dark and under illumination with ultraviolet light to evaluate the electrical defects near the conduction and valence band edges and those causing hysteresis and shifting of the curves. While all of these defects were passivated with the progress of the interface nitridation, excessive nitridation resulted in degradation of the MOS capacitors. The optimal conditions for NO-POA are discussed on the basis of these experimental findings.