Probing the Dielectric Properties of Ultrathin Al/Al2O3/Al Trilayers Fabricated Using in Situ Sputtering and Atomic Layer Deposition

Dielectric properties of ultrathin Al2O3 (1.1-4.4 nm) in metal-insulator-metal (M-I-M) Al/Al2O3/Al trilams fabricated in situ using an integrated sputtering and atomic layer deposition (ALD) system were investigated. An M-I interfacial layer (IL) formed during the pre-ALD sample transfer even under high vacuum has a profound effect on the dielectric properties of the Al2O3 with a significantly reduced dielectric constant (epsilon(r)) of 0.5-3.3 as compared to the bulk epsilon(r) similar to 9.2. Moreover, the observed soft-type electric breakdown suggests defects in both the M-I interface and the Al2O3 film. By controlling the pre-ALD exposure to reduce the IL to a negligible level, a high er up to 8.9 was obtained on the ALD Al2O3 films with thicknesses from 3.3 to 4.4 nm, corresponding to an effective oxide thickness (EOT) of similar to 4.4-1.9 nm, respectively, which are comparable to the EOTs found in high-K dielectrics like HfO2 at 3-4 nm in thickness and further suggest that the ultrathin ALD Al2O3 produced in optimal conditions may provide a low-cost alternative gate dielectric for CMOS. While er decreases at a smaller Al2O3 thickness, the hard-type dielectric breakdown at 32 MV/cm and in situ scanning tunneling spectroscopy revealed band gap 2.63 eV comparable to that of an epitaxial Al2O3 film. This suggests that the IL is unlikely a dominant reason for the reduced er at the Al2O3 thickness of 1.1-2.2 nm but rather a consequence of the electron tunneling as confirmed in the transport measurement. This result demonstrates the critical importance in controlling the IL to achieving high-performance ultrathin dielectric in MIM structures.