Thermally induced Zr incorporation into Si from zirconium silicate thin films

Monochromatic x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, time-of-flight secondary io n mass spectrometry, and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry are used to study the outdiffusion of Zr from the alternate gate dielectric candidate ZrSixOy thin films deposited on Si(100). We find that Zr incorporation into Si from ZrSixOy appears to occur at annealing temperatures higher than 100 0 degreesC. Incorporation of Zr to depths of up to 23 nm into the silicon s ubstrate is observed. A diffusion coefficient of D(0)similar to 2x10(-15) c m(2)/s is estimated from the associated depth profiles. (C) 2001 American I nstitute of Physics.