Extracting the relative dielectric constant for "high-k layers" from CV measurements -: Errors and error propagation

The paper pursues an investigation of the errors associated with the extraction of the dielectric constant (i.e., kappa value) from capacitance-voltage measurements on metal oxide semiconductor capacitors. The existence of a transition layer between the high-rc dielectric and the silicon substrate is a factor that affects - in general - the assessment of the electrical data, as well as the extraction of rc. A methodology which accounts for this transition layer and the errors related to other parameters involved in the k value extraction is presented; moreover, we apply this methodology to experimental CV results on HfO2/SiOx/Si structures produced in different conditions. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.