Surface treatment for the atomic layer deposition of HfO2 on silicon -: art. no. 141913

The atomic layer deposition (ALD) of HfO2 on silicon with a Cl-2 surface treatment is investigated by physicochemical and electrical techniques. The specificity of this treatment is to create, on a HF-dipped silicon surface, the nucleation sites necessary for the ALD growth. The growth rates obtained by spectroscopic ellipsometry and total x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy indicate that the nucleation sites (i.e., the -OH groups), which are necessary to perform some bidimensional ALD growth, are generated during this surface treatment. After deposition of thin HfO2 layers (from a few monolayers up to 8.7 nm), a very thin parasitic SiOx layer, underneath 1 monolayer of Hf silicate, is observed by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Nevertheless, an equivalent oxide thickness of 1.1 nm is obtained with an as-deposited 3.7 nm thick HfO2 layer. (C) 2005 American Institute of Physics.