Metal gate-HfO2 metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors on n-GaAs substrate with silicon/germanium interfacial passivation layers

In this letter, the authors present the capacitance-voltage and current-voltage characteristics of TaN∕HfO2∕n-GaAs metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors with thin silicon and germanium interfacial passivation layers (IPLs). Physical vapor deposition high-k dielectric films and silicon/germanium IPLs were deposited on GaAs substrate which has been cleaned with HCl and (NH4)2S solutions. Equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) of 12.5A and dielectric leakage current density of 2.0×10−4A∕cm2 at ∣VG−VFB∣=1V with low capacitance-voltage frequency dispersion have been obtained. The results indicate that the use of a thin silicon/germanium IPL assists in scaling EOT below 13A, while improving the quality of the interface.