Surface passivation using ultrathin AlNx film for Ge-metal-oxide-semiconductor devices with hafnium oxide gate dielectric -: art. no. 113501

A surface passivation method to improve the film quality of HfO2 gate dielectric on Ge substrate by using ultrathin AlNx layer is reported. Results show that the AlNx passivation layer is more effective in suppressing the GeOx formation at the HfO2/Ge interface, resulting in improved C-V characteristics, than surface nitridation-passivated Ge devices. In addition, a thermal stability study shows AlNx passivation is promising for future Ge metal-oxide-semiconductor devices. (C) 2005 American Institute of Physics.