The use of narrow nuclear resonances in the study of alternative metal-oxide–semiconductor structures

Narrow resonances (FWHM ∼ 100 eV) in the cross-section curves of nuclear reactions induced by protons in several light nuclei have been widely exploited in order to determine light nuclei depth profiles with nanometric near-surface depth resolution. In this paper the principles of narrow nuclear resonant reaction profiling are discussed as well as the mathematical modeling used to extract depth profiles from excitation curves. Application of the technique to the study of metal-oxide–semiconductor structures alternative to the well-established poly-Si/SiO2/c-Si is here highlighted. 15N, 18O, 27Al and 29Si depth profiles in high permittivity gate dielectrics (alternatives to SiO2), fully silicided metal gates (alternatives to poly-Si) or SiO2 grown on SiC (alternative to Si) are determined in order to understand the composition and atomic transport of the species in the materials and serve as examples of the power and flexibility of the technique.