Search

Open-circuit impedance spectra, channel impedance spectroscopy on solution-gated field-effect devices, and differential capacitance vs potential (Mott−Schottky) measurements were used to determine the energetics of n-Si(111), n-Si(100), and p-Si(111) electrodes in contact with aqueous 11 M (40% by weight) NH_4F, buffered HF (BHF), 27 M (48%) HF(aq), and concentrated (18 M) H_2SO_4. A Mott−Schottky analysis of A_s^2C_(sc)^(-2)-vs-E (where As is the interfacial area, and C_(sc) is the differential capacitance as a function of the electrode potential, E) data yielded reliable barrier heights for some silicon/liquid contacts in this work. Performing a Mott−Schottky analysis, however, requires measurement of the differential capacitance under reverse bias, where oxidation or etching can occur for n-Si and where electroplating of metal contaminants can occur for p-Si. Hence, open-circuit methods would offer desirable, complementary approaches to probing the energetics of such contacts. Accordingly, open-circuit, near-surface channel conductance measurements have been performed using solution-gated n^+-p-Si(111)-n^+ and p^+-n-Si(100)-p^+ devices. Additionally, open-circuit impedance spectra were obtained for silicon electrodes in contact with these solutions. The combination of the three techniques indicated that the surfaces of n-Si(111) and n-Si(100) were under accumulation when in contact with either 11 M NH_4F(aq) or BHF(aq). The barrier heights for n-Si(111) and n-Si(100) in 11 M NH_4F(aq) were −0.065 ± 0.084 V and −0.20 ± 0.21 V, respectively, and were −0.03 ± 0.19 V and −0.07 ± 0.24 V, respectively, for these surfaces in contact with buffered HF(aq). Consistently, p-Si(111) surfaces were determined to be in inversion in contact with these electrolytes, exhibiting barrier heights of 0.984 ± 0.078 V in contact with 11 M NH_4F(aq) and 0.97 ± 0.22 V in contact with buffered HF(aq). In contact with 27 M HF(aq), n-Si(111) and n-Si(100) were in depletion, with barrier heights of 0.577 ± 0.038 V and 0.400 ± 0.057 V, respectively, and p-Si(111) was under inversion with a barrier height of 0.856 ± 0.076 V. Measurements performed in 18 M H_2SO_4 revealed barrier heights of 0.75 ± 0.11 V, 0.696 ± 0.043 V, and 0.889 ± 0.018 V for n-Si(111), n-Si(100), and p-Si(111), respectively, demonstrating that in 18 M H_2SO_4, the band edge positions of Si were different for different doping types. The barrier height data demonstrate that the observed low recombination rates of silicon in contact with 11 M NH_4F, BHF, or 18 M H_2SO_4 cannot necessarily be attributed to a reduction in the number of surface trap states. In part, low surface recombination rates are expected for such systems because the very large or very small barrier height for silicon in contact with these liquids provides a potential barrier that prevents one type of photogenerated carrier (either electrons or holes) from reaching the surface, thereby producing a low steady-state surface recombination rate.

Various technical issues related to feature scaling and recent electrochemical technologies advances for on-chip copper interconnects at Intel are reviewed. Effects of additives on electroplating, as well as performance of novel Cu direct plating on ruthenium liner are discussed. An electroless cobalt capping layer of Cu lines, which led to increased electromigration resistance, has been characterized. The potential application of carbon nanotubes as future interconnects materials, their properties and controlled placement by using dielectrophoresis are also reviewed.

The interfacial energetic and kinetics behavior of n-ZnO/H2O contacts have been determined for a series of compounds, cobalt trisbipyridine (Co(bpy)3(3+/2+)), ruthenium pentaamine pyridine (Ru(NH3)5 py(3+/2+)), cobalt bis-1,4,7-trithiacyclononane (Co(TTCN)2(3+/2+)), and osmium bis-dimethyl bipyridine bis-imidazole (Os(Me2bpy)2(Im)2(3+/2+)), which have similar formal reduction potentials yet which have reorganization energies that span approximately 1 eV. Differential capacitance vs potential and current density vs potential measurements were used to measure the interfacial electron-transfer rate constants for this series of one-electron outer-sphere redox couples. Each interface displayed a first-order dependence on the concentration of redox acceptor species and a first-order dependence on the concentration of electrons in the conduction band at the semiconductor surface, in accord with expectations for the ideal model of a semiconductor/liquid contact. Rate constants varied from 1 x 10(-19) to 6 x 10(-17) cm4 s(-1). The interfacial electron-transfer rate constant decreased as the reorganization energy, lambda, of the acceptor species increased, and a plot of the logarithm of the electron-transfer rate constant vs (lambda + deltaG(o)')(2)/4lambda k(B)T (where deltaG(o)' is the driving force for interfacial charge transfer) was linear with a slope of approximately -1. The rate constant at optimal exoergicity was found to be approximately 5 x 10(-17) cm4 s(-1) for this system. These results show that interfacial electron-transfer rate constants at semiconductor electrodes are in good agreement with the predictions of a Marcus-type model of interfacial electron-transfer reactions.

A process to achieve 12 nm half-pitch interconnect structures in ultralow-k interlayer dielectric (ILD) is realized using standard 193 nm lithography. An optimized pattern transfer that minimizes unwanted distortion of ILD features is followed by copper fill. Electrical measurements that validate functionality of the drawn structures are presented.

The diffusion of aluminum (Al) from a source sandwiched between polycrystalline copper (Cu) thin films was investigated as a function of time and temperature through secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) and continuum simulations. Extracted diffusion coefficients for the bulk were in line with literature values. In order to simulate the experimentally derived diffusion profiles at temperatures where bulk diffusion is not the dominant diffusion mechanism (room temperature to 350 °C), it was necessary to explicitly include the re-distribution of Al as a result of Cu grain growth during anneal. Aluminum has the tendency to segregate to the Cu/liner and Cu/etch stop (ES) interface. The tendency of Al to segregate to the liner is ten times stronger for ruthenium (Ru) than for tantalum (Ta). In 100 nm wide dual damascene structures lined with Ru, this segregation behavior was responsible for the Al depletion in bulk Cu and for the Al depletion at the Cu/ES interface.