Electrical Properties of Gold at the Silicon-Dielectric Interface

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Abstract
The influence of gold has been examined at the Si/SiO2 interface, and it has been found that the results are consistent with gold introducing an acceptor surface state close to the valence band edge. A study of the formation kinetics of these centers has indicated that they result from a surface-reaction-limited process rather than from a gold diffusion-rate-limited process. It is suggested that the surface reaction is between the gold and interfacial disorder centers, such that the density and availability of these centers determine the resulting density of active gold centers. Gold has also been found to introduce the same type of acceptor center at the interface between silicon and deposited layers of both silicon nitride and silica. Finally, a number of other metals were examined for action similar to gold at the Si/SiO2 interface. Only platinum was found to behave in this manner, and it was assumed that the same mechanism was operative in the formation of this center as with the gold centers.