Growth and Materials Characterization of Native Germanium Oxynitride Thin Films on Germanium

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Abstract
The objective of this study was an investigation of physical and electronic properties of native germanium oxynitrides on germanium with the goal of developing a technique for fabricating insulating films on germanium having sufficient interfacial quality for MOS and junction passivation applications. The thermal reaction process developed for this study, atmospheric pressure oxidation followed by atmospheric pressure nitridation yields smooth, uniform, native germanium oxynitride films which have high interfacial quality and which are MOSFET process compatible. Physical characterization using infrared transmission spectroscopy, ESCA, and Auger electron spectroscopy indicates that the thermal oxidation of germanium at 600°C results in a vitreous film of essentially stoichiometric , which is converted to a network of germanium, oxygen, and nitrogen by exposure to anhydrous ammonia at 600°C. Long nitridation times at 600°C result in the formation of a stable stoichiometric oxynitride, (rather than causing complete conversion to , which occurs only at higher temperatures). An infrared absorbance peak at 800 cm−1 has been identified and attributed to a vibrational mode of the stoichiometric oxynitride structure. Electrical characterization by capacitance‐voltage measurements and channel mobility measurements in MOSFET's indicates that appropriate nitridation conditions result in an interface state density of ∼1011/cm2‐eV and a channel mobility of 1200 cm2/V‐s.

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