Direct visualization and in-depth physical study of metal filament formation in percolated high-kappa dielectrics

作者：Li X^*; Pey K L; Bosman M; Liu W H; Kauerauf T

来源：Applied Physics Letters, 2010, 96(2): 022903.

DOI：10.1063/1.3291621

• hafnium compounds
• high-k dielectric thin films
• metal-insulator boundaries
• MOSFET
• semiconductor device breakdown
• silicon compounds
• transmission electron microscopy

The migration of Ta atoms from a transistor gate electrode into the percolated high-kappa (HK) gate dielectrics is directly shown using transmission electron microscopy analysis. A nanoscale metal filament that formed under high current injection is identified to be the physical defect responsible for the ultrafast transient breakdown (BD) of the metal-gate/high-kappa (MG/HK) gate stacks. This highly conductive metal filament poses reliability concerns for MG/HK gate stacks as it significantly reduces the post-BD reliability margin of a transistor.

• 出版日期2010-1-11
• 单位南阳理工学院