Publications Details

Wet oxidation of Al{sub x}GA{sub 1-x}As: arsenic barriers on the road to mis

Ashby, C.I.H.; Sullivan, J.P.; Newcomer, P.P.; Missert, N.A.; Hou, H.Q.; Hammons, B.E.; Baca, A.G.

Three characteristic regimes were identified during wet thermal oxidation of AlxGa(1-x)As (x=1 to 0.90) on GaAs: oxidation of Al and Ga in the alloy to form to an amorphous oxide layer, formation and elimination of elemental As and of amorphous As2O3, and crystallization of the oxide film. Residual As can produce up to a 100fold increase in leakage current and a 30% increase in bulk dielectric constant. Very low As levels produce partial Fermi-level pinning at the oxidized AlxGa(1-x)As/GaAs interface. Local Schottky- barrier pinning of the Fermi level at As precipitates at the oxide/GaAs interface may be the source of the apparent high interface state density. The presence of thermodynamically favored interfacial As may impose a fundamental limit on the application of AlGaAs wet oxidation for achieving MIS devices without post-oxidation processing to remove the residual As from the interface.