Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 March 2011
Ta2Si silicide has been deposited by sputtering and thermally oxidized on 4H-SiC and Si substrates. A mixture of SiO2 and Ta2O5 insulator films has been obtained after oxidation in dry O2. Among the high-k dielectrics, tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) could be a valuable alternative due to its high dielectric constant. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), C-V measurements along with x-ray diffraction analysis have been carried out in order to study the feasibility of this material as gate dielectric for 4H-SiC MOS devices. Electrical characteristics of deposited and oxidized Ta2Si on 4H-SiC and Si samples have been obtained and compared. At the range of oxidation temperatures considered (850°C-950°C), the influence of diffusion processes between the Si substrate and Ta2Si layer during oxidation strongly influences the dielectric properties of the resulting insulator layer on Si substrates.