Structural and Electrical Characterization of Undoped Poly-Si Oxides

Abstract

We evaluated structural and electrical characteristics of undoped poly-Si oxide films. Poly-Si films made by solid phase crystallization at 600-900°C from undoped amorphous Si films were oxidized to form oxide layers of 140nm thickness. We observed protuberances on the surface of poly-Si layers after oxidation. Poly-Si oxide layers also generated protuberances above the protuberances of poly-Si films. The number of protuberances per unit area is larger in the case of high temperature crystallization. The measurement of current through the poly-Si oxide films shows that the conductivity of poly-Si oxide films depends on crystallization temperature of poly-Si films in the case of positive gate bias. When the gate is biased negatively, current through the poly-Si oxide films remained almost constant regardless of crystallization temperature. We find that poly-Si crystallized at lower temperatures offers poly-Si oxide films of lower leakage current in the case of electron injection from undoped poly-Si layers. The lower leakage current is due to highness of energy barrier for electron at undoped poly-Si/poly-Si oxide interface.