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Field-induced reactions of water molecules at Si-dielectric interfaces

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

L. Tsetseris ,
X. Zhou ,
D. M. Fleetwood ,
R. D. Schrimpf  and
S. T. Pantelides
L. Tsetseris
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, U.S.A.
X. Zhou
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, U.S.A.
D. M. Fleetwood
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, U.S.A. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, U.S.A.
R. D. Schrimpf
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, U.S.A.
S. T. Pantelides
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, U.S.A. Solid State Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, U.S.A.
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Abstract

Water molecules and water-related species are present to a varying degree in SiO2 and other dielectrics and at Si-dielectric interfaces. Their presence, even in small concentrations, constitutes a critical reliability problem for present day ultrathin dielectrics. Here we present first-principles density functional calculations that probe the reactivity of water molecules at the Si-dielectric interface. We report results on different possible reaction pathways for water at the interface, including dissociation of water that can lead to the release of H+ ions. The released protons can migrate along the interface and depassivate dangling bonds. Results are also presented for the reaction of water with a hydrogen atom migrating laterally along the interface that lead to the creation of hydronium species. These atomic-scale mechanisms may account for at least some of the creation of interface traps and oxide trapped charge, the two features that give rise to negative bias temperature instability (NBTI), a well known reliability phenomenon that occurs in MOSFETs under normal operating and stress conditions.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 786: Symposium E – Fundamentals of Novel Oxide/Semiconductor Interfaces , 2003 , E3.3
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2004

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