Zirconium-Doped Tantalum Oxide Gate Dielectric Films Integrated with Molybdenum, Molybdenum Nitride, and Tungsten Nitride Gate Electrodes

Electrical properties of zirconium-doped tantalum oxide (Zr-doped TaO x ) high-k gate dielectric films integrated with Mo, MoN, and WN gate electrodes were studied. The Zr-doped TaO x film with the Zr/(Ta + Zr) ratio of 0.33, which showed good dielectric properties in previous studies, was used as the high-k film in this study. A single metallic Zr/Ta alloy target was used for the sputter deposition. The resistivities of the MoN and WN films were minimized by adjusting the N 2 concentration in the sputtering gas, i.e., 10% N 2 (90% Ar) for MoN and 2.5% N 2 for WN, respectively. Microstructures of the gate electrodes were investigated with X-ray diffraction. Current density, equivalent oxide thickness, breakdown strength, flatband voltage, hysteresis, interface state density, and frequency dispersion of capacitors with different gate electrode materials were analyzed and compared. Device characteristics changed drastically with the gate electrode material, mainly due to the difference in work functions.