Title :
Electrode effects on the breakdown characteristics of high-k HfO2 metal-insulator-metal capacitors
Author :
Tang, W.M. ; Helander, M.G. ; Greiner, M.T. ; Ng, W.T. ; Lu, Z.H.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Univ. of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Abstract :
The effects of top metal contacts on the leakage current and breakdown characteristics of HfO2 metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors were investigated. It is found that the breakdown field strength of the devices scales with the work function of the top electrode; the higher the metal work function the higher the breakdown field strength of the devices. This observation is attributed to the different barrier height formed at the contacting metal/HfO2 interfaces, which results in various amount of charge injected into the HfO2 dielectrics. The joule heating from these injected charges increases the defect density leading to dielectric breakdown.
Keywords :
MIM devices; capacitors; electric breakdown; hafnium compounds; high-k dielectric thin films; leakage currents; work function; HfO2; breakdown field strength; defect density; dielectric breakdown; electrode effects; high-k metal-insulator-metal capacitors; joule heating; leakage current; work function; Artificial intelligence; Electric breakdown; Electrodes; Films; High K dielectric materials; MIM capacitors; Metals;
Conference_Titel :
Electron Devices and Solid-State Circuits (EDSSC), 2010 IEEE International Conference of
Conference_Location :
Hong Kong
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-9997-7
DOI :
10.1109/EDSSC.2010.5713760
