Journal of ELECTRONIC MATERIALS, Vol. 40, No. 3, 2011 DOI: 10.1007/s11664-010-1500-1 Ó 2011 TMS Fabrication of Metal–Oxide–Diamond Field-Effect Transistors with Submicron-Sized Gate Length on Boron-Doped (111) H-Terminated Surfaces Using Electron Beam Evaporated SiO2 and Al2O3 TAKEYASU SAITO,1,4,5 KYUNG-HO PARK,1 KAZUYUKI HIRAMA,2 HITOSHI UMEZAWA,1 MITSUYA SATOH,2 HIROSHI KAWARADA,2 ZHI-QUAN LIU,3 KAZUTAKA MITSUISHI,3 KAZUO FURUYA,3 and HIDEYO OKUSHI1 1.—Diamond Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8568, Japan. 2.—Department of Electrical Engineering and Bioscience, Waseda University, Shinjyuku-ku, Tokyo 169-8555, Japan. 3.—National Institute for Materials Science, 3-13, Sakura, Tsukuba 305-0003, Japan. 4.—Present address: Department of Chemical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka Prefecture University, 1-1 Gakuen-cho, Naka-ku, Sakai 599-8531, Japan. 5.—e-mail: tsaito@chemeng.osakafu-u.ac.jp A H-terminated surface conductive layer of B-doped diamond on a (111) surface was used to fabricate a metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) using an electron beam evaporated SiO2 or Al2O3 gate insulator and a Cu-metal stacked gate. When the bulk carrier concentration was approximately 1015/cm3 and the B-doped diamond layer was 1.5 lm thick, the surface carrier mobility of the H-terminated surface on the (111) diamond before FET processing was 35 cm2/Vs and the surface carrier concentration was 1.5 9 1013/cm2. For the SiO2 gate (0.76 lm long and 50 lm wide), the maximum measured drain current at a gate voltage of 3.0 V was 75 mA/mm and the maximum transconductance was 24 mS/mm, and for the Al2O3 gate (0.64 lm long and 50 lm wide), these features were 86 mA/mm and 15 mS/ mm, respectively. These values are among the highest reported direct-current (DC) characteristics for a diamond homoepitaxial (111) MOSFET. Key words: Surface conductive layer, metal oxide semiconductor, field-effect transistor, drain current, transconductance INTRODUCTION Diamond semiconductor devices show promise for high-power, high-frequency, and harsh environmental (radiation, high temperature, toxic chemicals) applications due to their excellent properties, such as wide band gap energy (5.5 eV), high breakdown electric field (10 MV/cm), maximum thermal conductivity (20 W/cm K), and low dielectric constant (5.7).1 However, diamond device technology is almost always limited to those with the p-type H-terminated surface conductive layer, (Received March 18, 2010; accepted December 15, 2010; published online February 3, 2011) which shows high surface carrier density, because the resistivity of the semiconductive diamond is still high.2–5 Most studies have been carried out using the (100)-oriented surface for two reasons: substrate availability and its smooth surface morphology. For FETs with H-terminated surface conductive layers, device performance has rapidly improved since they were first reported by Kawarada et al.6 Metal–semiconductor FETs (MESFETs) and metal– insulator–semiconductor FETs (MISFETs) on H-terminated surfaces on (100) substrates attained cutoff frequencies over 20 GHz with a gate length of 200 nm.7,8 Further detailed studies of (100) H-terminated devices were recently reported for a radiofrequency (RF) output power over 2 W/mm at 247 248 Saito, Park, Hirama, Umezawa, Satoh, Kawarada, Liu, Mitsuishi, Furuya, and Okushi 1 GHz, and for elevated temperature characteristics up to 100°C.9–12 These investigations should provide some of the significant results for actual diamond applications in the near future. However, only a very limited number of surface properties of H-terminated devices on homoepitaxially grown (111) diamond crystals have been examined so far. Kasu et al. reported that the surface carrier mobility and concentration were 74 cm2/Vs and 1.7 9 1013/cm2, respectively, and also fabricated an Al-gate MESFET with 11 lm gate length.13 Generally, fabrication of a gate insulator is one of the essential aspects for high breakdown voltage and low gate leakage current. These studies should include process optimization to suppress damage to the H-terminated surfaces on the diamond during oxide growth. SiO2 gate insulators have been investigated as a MISFET on B-doped diamond,14,15 however, only low transconductance (3.9 lS/mm) was achieved,16 mainly due to the high resistivity of the B-doped diamond. Yun et al.16–18 investigated the surface state density between CaF2 and a diamond interface and succeeded in decreasing the density to 1010/cm2 eV, which is a sufficiently low level to make CaF2 an appropriate gate insulator for H-terminated diamond MISFETs. Unfortunately, CaF2 is not a suitable material, due to its instability at elevated humidity. Therefore, development of FET devices with gate materials other than CaF2 is needed. In the current study, a p-type surface conductive layer of homoepitaxially grown diamond on (111) was used to fabricate a metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) with submicronsized gate length using electron beam evaporated SiO2 and Al2O3 gate insulators. The properties of the MOSFET devices were measured, such as drain current (Id) and gate current (Ig) as a function of gate voltage (Vg) and drain voltage (Vd). EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES Homoepitaxial diamond growth was carried out using a quartz-wall-type microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) reactor (ASTEX 1.5 kW) with high-temperature, high-pressure synthesized type Ib diamond (111). Before growth, the diamond was cleaned in a 200°C heated H2O2/H2O/ H2SO4 solution, then in HF, and finally in 80°C heated H2O2/H2O/NH3. During its growth, the source gas was CH4 diluted in H2 (0.1%), the microwave power was 1200 W, the total pressure was 50 Torr, and the diameter of the plasma ball was 5 cm. Hall measurement results suggest that boron was unintentionally incorporated into the films. After growth, the diamond samples were oxidized in a 250°C heated HNO3/H2SO4 (1:3) solution and then 400 lm/ circular four-point van der Pauw-configured Ti(30 nm)/Pt(30 nm)/Au(100 nm) electrodes were formed by electron beam evaporation. Hall measurements of the samples for sheet resistivity, carrier mobility, and carrier concentration of the diamond bulk layer were performed using a Resi Test 8300 system (TOYO Corporation) in ambient air. MOSFET fabrication of the H-terminated diamond was done as follows. First, the electrodes were removed using the following solutions in order: 80°C heated HCl/HNO3 (3:1) solution, HCl/H2O2, 200°C heated H2O2/H2O/H2SO4, and 250°C heated HNO3/ H2SO4 (1:3). Plasma hydrogenation was then done for 30 min under the same conditions used in the diamond growth described above. Before the MOSFET fabrication, a Hall measurement for the sheet resistivity, surface carrier mobility, and surface carrier concentration of the H-terminated layer was also performed using an Accent HL5500 system in ambient air. Au evaporated on the H-terminated layer was used as the ohmic contact for the FET source and drain. Inductively coupled plasma oxidation was used to remove the H-terminated surface conductive layer to isolate each device. A selfaligned gate formation was carried out to form 0.64lm- to 0.97-lm-long gates by first depositing either SiO2 or Al2O3 (50 nm) and then depositing a Cu (50 nm) stacked gate oxide integrity (GOI) structure, and finally fabricating the stacked gate layers (insulator and Cu) by lift-off processes. The gate length (Lg) was measured by scanning microscopy. Gate insulators, i.e., the SiO2 and Al2O3 layers, were deposited using electron beam evaporation at 6.5 kV/110 mA and 6.5 kV/260 mA, respectively. The gate electrode, Cu layers, were deposited using resistively heated evaporation at 5 V/26 A. The evaporation rates of the SiO2, Al2O3, and Cu were 24 nm/min, 24 nm/min, and 10 nm/min, respectively. The schematic cross-sectional structure of our device is depicted in Fig. 1, however, the entire MOSFET fabrication process sequence was described in our previous studies.19,20 Id, Vd, Vg, and Ig were set at the prescribed values, and Id–Vd, Id–Vg, and Ig–Vg characteristics were measured using a parameter analyzer (Agilent 4156C). Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) samples were prepared by focused ion beam, and observations were carried out in a JEMARM1000 high-voltage TEM operated at an accelerating voltage of 1000 kV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Table I presents the sheet resistivity, surface carrier mobility, and surface carrier concentration of the H-terminated surface conductive layer on (111) before the MOSFET fabrication, and the specific resistance, carrier mobility, and carrier concentration of the diamond film oxidized in a HNO3/H2SO4 (1:3) solution, representing the basic electrical properties of the H-terminated surface conductive layer and that of the unintentionally B-doped diamond bulk layer, respectively. When the CH4 concentration was 0.1%, ls was approximately 35 cm2/Vs Fabrication of Metal–Oxide–Diamond Field-Effect Transistors with Submicron-Sized Gate Length on Boron-Doped (111) H-Terminated Surfaces Using Electron Beam Evaporated SiO2 and Al2O3 249 Source Gate(Cu/Oxide) Source (Au) Drain (Au) Drain Gate (111) diamond Source (a) Cross section (b) Plain view Fig. 1. (a) Cross-sectional schematic image of the MOSFET, and (b) plan view of the MOSFET. Table I. Properties of H-terminated diamond (111) surface and bulk properties after wet oxidation in a HNO3/H2SO4 (1:3) solution Hydrogenated surface Sheet resistivity Surface carrier mobility Surface carrier concentration 10.7–12.8 kX/sq 33.9–38.1 cm2/Vs 1.44–1.53 3 1013/cm2 Specific resistance Carrier mobility Carrier concentration 63–158 Xcm 74–146 cm2/Vs 0.68–5.3 3 1015/cm3 Wet oxidized surface and Ns was 2 9 1013/cm2. The ls of a H-terminated layer on a (111) surface (35 cm2/Vs) was only about 25% of that obtained on a H-terminated layer on a (100) surface (150 cm2/Vs),7 and was lower than that on a (111) surface (74 cm2/Vs) previously reported by Kasu et al.,9 in which the deposition conditions were CH4 concentration of 1%, microwave power of 1.3 kW, and substrate temperature between 650°C and 685°C. Generally, the carrier mobility (l), transconductance (gm), and fT have the following relationships:21 gm ¼ W lCG ðVG VT Þ; Lg (1) gm ; 2pCGS (2) fT ¼ where CGS is the gate–source capacitance, W is the gate width, Lg is the gate length, and CG is the gate oxide capacitance per unit gate area. Therefore, an increase in l (in the case of surface utilized device, l becomes ls) is essential to achieve a higher gm. When Ns was 3 9 1015/cm3, q and l measured in ambient air after wet oxidation with HNO3/H2SO4 solution were 60 Xcm and about 70 cm2/Vs, respectively. The q value of this film (60 Xcm) was higher than that for the B-doped (100) diamond with B2H6 (30 Xcm) reported by Kiyota et al.,22 and the l value (about 70 cm2/Vs) was more than one magnitude lower than that obtained for B-doped (100) diamond (1000 cm2/Vs)22 in MPCVD. Figure 2a and b, respectively, show the Id–Vd characteristics for various Vg values and the Id–Vg characteristics for various Vd measured in ambient air for a FET device with a 0.76-lm-long, 50-lmwide SiO2 gate. When Vd = 0.05 V and Vg = ±1 V, this SiO2 gate showed an Ig of about 101 A/mm2, which is three orders higher than that for a pulsed laser ablation Al2O3-gate diamond MOSFET.23 For a MOSFET with a resistivity heater evaporated SiO insulator on a H-terminated surface of polished polycrystalline diamond with a 12-lm-long, 90-lmwide gate, Kitatani et al.24 reported a maximum normalized Id of 100 lA/mm at Vg = 4.75 V, and a maximum gm of 1 mS/mm. They also reported a breakdown voltage of over 200 V, which is considered high enough to achieve a stable oxide. In this study, the maximum normalized Id was 75 mA/ mm at Vg = 3.0 V. Based on Fig. 2b, the maximum gm for a FET device with a 0.76-lm-long, 50-lmwide SiO2 gate was 15 mS/mm, which is one of the highest gm values measured to date for a FET device on a H-terminated diamond surface with a 0.76-lmlong, 50-lm-wide SiO2 gate. Figure 3a and b show the Id–Vd and Id–Vg characteristics measured in ambient air for a FET device 250 Saito, Park, Hirama, Umezawa, Satoh, Kawarada, Liu, Mitsuishi, Furuya, and Okushi 100 60 Vg=-3.0V 60 2.0V -2.0V 40 -1.0V 20 0 (b) SiO2 gate 50 80 I d [mA A/mm] I d [mA A/mm] (a) SiO2 gate Vd=-8.05V -6.05V 40 -4.05V 30 20 -2.05V 10 1 0 2 4 6 0V 0 8 -0.05V -1 0 1 2 3 V g [[V]] V d [V] Fig. 2. (a) Id–Vd (drain current–drain voltage) characteristics for various gate voltages (Vg), and (b) Id–Vg characteristics for various Vd values for a 0.76-lm-long, 50-lm-wide SiO2 gate measured in ambient air. 70 (a) Al2O3 gate Vg=-3.0V 80 60 -2.0V 40 -1.0V 20 0 0.0V +1.0V 0 2 4 6 8 60 I d [mA/mm m] I d [mA/mm ] 100 (b) Al2O3 gate Vd=-8.05V 6 05V -6.05V 50 -4.05V 40 30 -2.05V 20 10 0 -1 0 V d [V] 1 2 3 -0.05V 00 V g [V] Fig. 3. (a) Id–Vd (drain current–drain voltage) characteristics for various gate voltages (Vg), and (b) Id–Vg characteristics for various Vd values for a 0.64-lm-long, 50-lm-wide Al2O3 gate measured in ambient air. 200 Cu/SiO2 gate MISFET on (111) diamond [this study] gate MISFET on ((111)) diamond [this [ study] y] Cu/Al2O3 g Cu/CaF2 gate MISFET on (111) diamond [31] 150 gm [mS/m mm] with a 0.64-lm-long, 50-lm-wide Al2O3 gate. The Ig for this Al2O3 gate (101 A/mm2) was on the same order of magnitude as that for a FET device with the SiO2 gate (Fig. 2). The maximum normalized Id was 60 mA/mm at Vg = 3.0 V. Based on Fig. 3b, the maximum gm was 15 mS/mm. Figure 4 shows the maximum gm as a function of gate length (Lg) for the FET devices fabricated to date. The grey area and dotted area in the figure are a rough summary of the reported data about diamond (100) MESFETs and (100) MISFETs from a Cu-gate MESFET on single-crystalline diamond,25 an Al gate MESFET on single-crystalline diamond,7,26,27 a Cu/CaF2 gate MISFET on singlecrystalline diamond,8,19,20 and a Cu/CaF2 gate MISFET on polycrystalline diamond.28 The figure also shows a comparison between this study (MOSFET) and a Cu/CaF2 gate MISFET on singlecrystalline (111) diamond.29 The estimated average maximum gm of FET devices with a SiO2 gate insulator with Lg = 0.76 lm was 15 mS/mm, and that with a 0.96-lm-long gate was 3.3 mS/mm. The estimated average maximum gm of FET devices with an Al2O3 gate insulator with Lg = 0.64 lm was 7.8 mS/mm, and that with Lg = 0.97 lm was 4.5 mS/mm. This difference in gm between the two types of insulators might be due to the difference in temperature during the insulator deposition, (100) MESFET 100 50 (100) MISFET 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 Lg [µm] Fig. 4. Transconductance (gm) as a function of gate length (Lg) for a Cu/SiO2-gate MOSFET on single-crystalline (111) diamond (), a Cu/Al2O3-gate MOSFET on single-crystalline (111) diamond (e) fabricated in this study, and a Cu/CaF2-gate MISFET on singlecrystalline (111) diamond (r). The grey region and the dotted region show the typical range for the MESFET on (100) diamond and MISFET on (100) diamond, respectively. e.g., temperature increase due to radiation from the filament. Taking advantage of this temperature dependence is the main target in future research to Fabrication of Metal–Oxide–Diamond Field-Effect Transistors with Submicron-Sized Gate Length on Boron-Doped (111) H-Terminated Surfaces Using Electron Beam Evaporated SiO2 and Al2O3 251 Fig. 5. (a) HRTEM image of the interface between diamond (111) surface and SiO2 layer, and (b) HRTEM image of the interface between diamond (111) surface and Al2O3 layer. suppress the degradation of the sheet resistivity and mobility of the H-terminated surfaces for improved H-terminated diamond MOSFETs. Development of more stable device structures, e.g., MISFETs, MOSFETs, etc., is also necessary. These studies should include screening of gate oxides based on, for example, band gap, gap states, leakage current, and breakdown voltage.30 Figure 5 shows cross-sectional high-resolution TEM (HRTEM) images of each gate insulator, which is part of the gate stack of the FET depicted in Fig. 1a. The thickness of each insulator on the gate integration is 45 nm for the Al2O3 layer and 50 nm for the SiO2 layer. The interface between the diamond substrate and gate insulator are atomically flat for both materials, while the interface roughness between the gate insulator and gate metal (Cu) is apparently material related. The Al2O3 layer showed rough interfaces, in which the SiO2 layer is apparently smoother than that of the other case. This should be due to the crystalline nature of the materials. The Al2O3 layer also consisted of small size grains, ranging from 10 nm to 20 nm. The SiO2 layer is amorphous. Very thin amorphous interface layers between the diamond substrate and gate insulator are also observed for both the Al2O3 layer and the SiO2 layer, however, no chemical compositional fluctuation was observed. B-doped (111) was successfully fabricated using electron beam evaporated deposited SiO2 or Al2O3 gate insulators. For a 0.76-lm-long, 50-lm-wide SiO2 gate, the maximum measured drain current at a gate voltage of 3.0 V was 75 mA/mm and the maximum transconductance was 15 mS/mm, and for a 0.64-lm-long, 50-lm-wide Al2O3 gate, these characteristics were 86 mA/mm and 24 mS/mm, respectively. These values are among the highest reported DC characteristics for a diamond homoepitaxial (111) MOSFET. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study was carried out under the Advanced Diamond Devices Project, The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), Japan. Part of this study was supported by the AIST-Nano-Processing Facility (AIST-NPF), Nanotechnology Research Institute (NRI) of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), which is a member of the Nano-foundry Group that conducts the Nanoprocessing Partnership Program (NPPP) part of the Nanotechnology Support Project of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT). 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