The influence of surface electric fields on the chemical passivation of Si-SiO2 interfaces after firing

In this work it is demonstrated that the presence of surface electric fields during a post-deposition anneal can impact the chemical passivation of SiO2 + SiNx double layer stacks. Although the surface passivation generated in such dielectrics is well known, we demonstrate that an electric field pre...

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Main Authors: Al-Dhahir, I, McNab, S, Yu, M, Shaw, E, Hamer, P, Bonilla Osorio, RS
Format: Conference item
Language:English
Published: AIP Publishing 2022
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author Al-Dhahir, I
McNab, S
Yu, M
Shaw, E
Hamer, P
Bonilla Osorio, RS
author_facet Al-Dhahir, I
McNab, S
Yu, M
Shaw, E
Hamer, P
Bonilla Osorio, RS
author_sort Al-Dhahir, I
collection OXFORD
description In this work it is demonstrated that the presence of surface electric fields during a post-deposition anneal can impact the chemical passivation of SiO2 + SiNx double layer stacks. Although the surface passivation generated in such dielectrics is well known, we demonstrate that an electric field present in the dielectric not only modifies the surface carrier concentration but can also induce a chemical change in the interface properties upon annealing. By tailoring the surface electric field in the dielectric stack prior to annealing, it is shown that the capture rates at the Si-SiO2 interface can be modified depending on the field polarity and magnitude. Planar FZ specimens are examined here. It is found that annealing in the presence of a field pointing into the Si surface, as intrinsically occurs in positively charged SiNx, increases the dielectric charge density without any substantial changes in the chemical passivation. When an opposite electric field is established by negative charge on the dielectric, the chemical passivation worsens substantially where a fourfold increase in the capture rate of minority carriers is obtained via electrical characterisation. We hypothesise that the electric field may be driving atomic hydrogen away from the interface, thus damaging the passivation.
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spelling oxford-uuid:339b9206-bfaf-4d3e-a526-5a245e09f2d72023-09-20T12:45:50ZThe influence of surface electric fields on the chemical passivation of Si-SiO2 interfaces after firingConference itemhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_5794uuid:339b9206-bfaf-4d3e-a526-5a245e09f2d7EnglishSymplectic ElementsAIP Publishing2022Al-Dhahir, IMcNab, SYu, MShaw, EHamer, PBonilla Osorio, RSIn this work it is demonstrated that the presence of surface electric fields during a post-deposition anneal can impact the chemical passivation of SiO2 + SiNx double layer stacks. Although the surface passivation generated in such dielectrics is well known, we demonstrate that an electric field present in the dielectric not only modifies the surface carrier concentration but can also induce a chemical change in the interface properties upon annealing. By tailoring the surface electric field in the dielectric stack prior to annealing, it is shown that the capture rates at the Si-SiO2 interface can be modified depending on the field polarity and magnitude. Planar FZ specimens are examined here. It is found that annealing in the presence of a field pointing into the Si surface, as intrinsically occurs in positively charged SiNx, increases the dielectric charge density without any substantial changes in the chemical passivation. When an opposite electric field is established by negative charge on the dielectric, the chemical passivation worsens substantially where a fourfold increase in the capture rate of minority carriers is obtained via electrical characterisation. We hypothesise that the electric field may be driving atomic hydrogen away from the interface, thus damaging the passivation.
spellingShingle Al-Dhahir, I
McNab, S
Yu, M
Shaw, E
Hamer, P
Bonilla Osorio, RS
The influence of surface electric fields on the chemical passivation of Si-SiO2 interfaces after firing
title The influence of surface electric fields on the chemical passivation of Si-SiO2 interfaces after firing
title_full The influence of surface electric fields on the chemical passivation of Si-SiO2 interfaces after firing
title_fullStr The influence of surface electric fields on the chemical passivation of Si-SiO2 interfaces after firing
title_full_unstemmed The influence of surface electric fields on the chemical passivation of Si-SiO2 interfaces after firing
title_short The influence of surface electric fields on the chemical passivation of Si-SiO2 interfaces after firing
title_sort influence of surface electric fields on the chemical passivation of si sio2 interfaces after firing
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