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Characterization of the silicon dioxide-silicon interface with the scanning capacitance microscope
Published
Author(s)
Joseph Kopanski, W. R. Thurber, Melissa Chun
Abstract
The scanning capacitance microscope (SCM) was used to characterize the capacitance-voltage (C-V) properties of silicon dioxide (SiO2) on silicon (Si). The operational mechanism of the SCM and its potential for non-destructive, contactless characterization of dielectric films on semiconductors are described. Theoretical predictions are made of SCM-measured differential capacitance versus dc bias voltage ( Δ}C-V) curves for metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors with various levels of fixed and interface traps. To better understand SCM (contactless) Δ}C-V measurements, a study was conducted using the SCM to measure the Δ}C-V properties of MOS capacitors with deposited metal contacts with areas ranging from 1 υm2 to 40000 υm2. As an example application, SCM measurements of the Δ}C-V properties of low-temperature ozone-enhanced oxides on silicon are presented. Ozone-enhanced oxides with thicknesses greater than 3 nm were found to produce MOS like Δ}CΔ}V curves with interface trap densities sufficiently low to be useful for samples for dopant profile extraction.
Kopanski, J.
, Thurber, W.
and Chun, M.
(2006),
Characterization of the silicon dioxide-silicon interface with the scanning capacitance microscope, Electrochemical Society, Pennington, NJ
(Accessed October 15, 2025)