Silicon based MIS devices with organic molecular monolayer as ultra-thin insulating film

In order to fabricate metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) devices with gate insulating films thinnest than 5 nm, organic monolayers have been grafted on the native oxide layer of silicon wafer. We demonstrate for the first time that a single monolayer of alkyl-trichlorosilane with a thickness in the range 1.9-2.8 nm allows to fabricate a silicon based MIS device with gate leakage current density as low as 10^-8 A/cm² at 5.8 MV/cm, high dielectric breakdown field (12 MV/cm), insulator charge density lower than 10¹⁰ cm^-2, and a fast interface state density of the order of 10¹¹ cm^-2eV^-1. Moreover, this insulating film is thermally stable up to 450°C.