Improvements in the dielectric properties of aluminium nitride through passivation

Author

Butcher, K.S.A. ; Tansley, T.L.

Author_Institution

Semicond. Sci. & Technol. Labs., Macquarie Univ., North Ryde, NSW, Australia

fYear

2000

fDate

2000

Firstpage

59

Lastpage

62

Abstract

Poly-crystalline and amorphous AlN is susceptible to oxidation via the large surface area presented by intergranular voids and vacancies. Here we present measurements of the electrical properties of metal-insulator-metal AlN based structures that show marked improvement in dielectric breakdown and I-V characteristics following the application of various passivation strategies that prevent surface oxidation. Breakdown fields of >100 MV/m have been achieved and up to four orders of magnitude reduction in current density. Frequency dependent dielectric constant and dielectric loss measurements are also presented

Keywords

MIM structures; aluminium compounds; current density; dielectric losses; dielectric thin films; electric breakdown; oxidation; passivation; permittivity; vacancies (crystal); voids (solid); AlN; I-V characteristics; aluminium nitride; amorphous AlN; breakdown fields; current density; dielectric breakdown; dielectric loss; dielectric properties; electrical properties; frequency dependent dielectric constant; intergranular voids; large surface area; metal-insulator-metal AlN based structures; oxidation; passivation; polycrystalline AlN; surface oxidation; vacancies; Aluminum; Amorphous materials; Dielectric breakdown; Dielectric constant; Dielectric loss measurement; Dielectric measurements; Electric variables measurement; Metal-insulator structures; Oxidation; Passivation;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Semiconducting and Insulating Materials Conference, 2000. SIMC-XI. International

Conference_Location

Canberra, ACT

Print_ISBN

0-7803-5814-7

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/SIM.2000.939198

Filename

939198