Dielectric Properties of Noncrystalline HfSiON

TL;DR

This study investigates the dielectric properties of noncrystalline HfSiON films with varying compositions, revealing how atomic bonding and composition influence dielectric constants and band-gap energies.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of the relationship between atomic composition, bonding states, and dielectric properties in HfSiON films, introducing the concept of HfSiON as a pseudo-quaternary alloy.

Findings

Dielectric constants depend nonlinearly on nitrogen concentration.

Hf-N bonds form abruptly at specific compositions.

HfSiON behaves as a pseudo-quaternary alloy.

Abstract

The dielectric properties of noncrystalline hafnium silicon oxynitride (HfSiON) films with a variety of atomic compositions were investigated. The films were deposited by reactive sputtering of Hf and Si in an O, N, and Ar mixture ambient. The bonding states, band-gap energies, atomic compositions, and crystallinities were confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), reflection electron energy loss spectroscopy (REELS), Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), and X-ray diffractometry (XRD), respectively. The optical (high-frequency) dielectric constants were optically determined by the square of the reflective indexes measured by ellipsometry. The static dielectric constants were electrically estimated by the capacitance of Au/HfSiON/Si(100) structures. It was observed that low N incorporation in the films led to the formation of only Si-N bonds without Hf-N bonds. An abrupt decrease in band-gap energies was observed at atomic compositions corresponding to the boundary where Hf-N bonds start to form. By combining the data for the atomic concentrations and bonding states, we found that HfSiON can be regarded as a pseudo-quaternary alloy consisting of four insulating components: SiO$_2$, HfO$_2$, Si$_3$N$_4$, and Hf$_3$N$_4$. The optical and static dielectric constants for the films showed a nonlinear dependence on the N concentration, whose behavior can be understood in terms of abrupt Hf-N bond formation.