Sulfur passivation for the formation of Si-terminated Al2O3/SiGe(0Â 0Â 1) interfaces

- Effect of wet sulfur passivation on the electrical properties of Al2O3/SiGe(0 0 1) interfaces has been determined.
- EOT of 2.1 nm has been achieved for ALD Al2O3 deposited directly on SiGe(0 0 1) surfaces.
- Sulfur passivation has been found to passivate the Al2O3 interface with SiOAl bonds.
- Sulfur passivation is found to significantly reduce the GeOx or GeOAl content at the Al2O3/SiGe interface therefore improving the reliability.
- Sulfur passivation extends the surface stability prior to oxide ALD to up to an hour with no dramatic change in Dit, Cox or VFB of the resulting devices.