On the origin of leakage currents in silicon-on-sapphire MOS transistors

n-channel n-p-n metal-oxide-semiconductor transistors (MOST´s), fabricated in thin films of silicon-on-sapphire, exhibit values of source-to-drain leakage currents (IL)which vary from wafer to wafer, typicaily from 10^-11to 10^-7A/mil of channel width. Conversely, p-channel (p-n-p) devices exhibit low leakage current values in the range of 10^-11∼ 10^-10A/mil of channel width, consistent from wafer to Wafer. A model of a high concentration of donorlike states in the silicon in the vicinity of the Al2O3-Si interface creating a back-surface Conductive channel is proposed to account for both the inconsistently high n-channel and consistently low p-channel leakage current values. Experimental measurements of IL, which support the general conclusions of the model, are presented. ILis shown to be a strong function of a) the annealing temperature of the sapphire substrate prior to film growth, b) the silicon-film growth rate, c) the impurity concentration profile in the channel region, and d) the device geometry. These measurements show that the dominant factor controlling the overall magnitude of ILis the state of the Al2O3-Si interface immediately prior to silicon-film growth. A set of silicon-film growth conditions and device processing steps is outlined which achieve consistent n- and p-channel leakage current values of less than 10^-9A/mil of gate width.