Interfacial chemistry of the Sr/SiOxNy/Si(100) nanostructure

The interfacial chemistry of a strontium/silicon oxynitride (SiOxNy)/silico n(100) nanostructure was investigated with x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) to determine if SiOxNy ca n serve as a barrier for the strontium titanate high-k dielectric. The stru cture consisted of 19 Angstrom (5 ML of Sr on a 10 Angstrom SiOxNy barrier layer on a Si(100) substrate. Both XPS and SIMS results suggest that stront ium oxide (SrO) and silicon dioxide (SiO2) at the Sr/SiOxNy interface form strontium silicate even at 300 K. The kinetics of this reaction were accele rated by heating the structure in a stepwise fashion to 1000 K. After the 5 00 K anneal, the SrO and SiO2 XPS chemical states attenuate leaving predomi nantly two silicate phases. Annealing the nanostructure to 1000 K tested th e barrier capability of the 10 Angstrom SiOxNy layer to Sr diffusion. SIMS Sr+, SrSi+, SrSiO+, and Sr2N+ signals reveal that Sr containing species do not significantly penetrate below the N equivalent to Si-3 bonds characteri stic of SiOxNy. Comparison of 10 Angstrom SiO2 and 10 Angstrom SiOXNy confi rms that the N equivalent to Si-3 bonds are the key to the barrier properti es. Without N atoms, the SrSiO+ signal increased by a factor of 3.6 and, pe netrated 26 Angstrom deeper into the Si substrate after a 900 K anneal. The se results show that N atoms in the barrier layer retard Sr diffusion and s ilicate formation. Comparison of Ba and Sr on SiOxNy suggests that Ba is mo re likely to form silicate. whereas Sr is more likely to form silicate. (C) 2001 American Vacuum Society.