Characterization of electron traps in SiO₂ as influenced by processing parameters

Abstract

Qualitative comparisons have been made of the effect of processing conditions on the electron trapping characteristics of SiO2 using Si-SiO2-Al capacitors. In the presentwork, we have characterized the traps involved and studied their relationship to the processing. Four different traps have been characterized and the results indicate the smallest trap (cross section of ∼9×10-20 cm2) is independent of the processing conditions. The larger traps are dependent on the processing used. The largest trap appears in the sample without the post metallization annealing treatment and has a cross section of 8×10-18 cm2. The trap with cross section of 2×10-18 cm2 appears after post metallization annealing. The importance of these treatments explains discrepancies in the results of earlier work.