Ge out-diffusion and its Effect on Electrical Properties in s-Si/SiGe Devices

Abstract

In this paper we report on the quantification of Ge diffusion in strained Si/SiGe (s-Si/SiGe) structures for different Ge content in the SiGe virtual substrate. Using TCAD tools, the diffusivity has been calculated by varying pre-exponential factor and activation energy for Ge diffusion in s-Si and SiGe layers separately and obtaining a fit to the SIMS profiles. We observe an exponential and a linear dependence of pre-factor and activation energy for Ge diffusion in s-Si and SiGe, respectively, which is in agreement with literature. As a result of diffusion, the carrier confinement in thin strained layer reduces and the mobility is affected. Using C-V measurements on MOS capacitors fabricated along with devices, a shift in the flat band voltage has been observed and is attributed to a change in the interface trapped and fixed oxide charge. We observe a stronger effect of the variation of strained layer thickness than Ge content on the change in the flatband voltage. This observation is consistent with an exponential increase in Ge arriving at the interface with decrease in strained layer thickness.