April 7 - 11, 2025
Seattle, Washington
Symposium Supporters
2025 MRS Spring Meeting & Exhibit
EL08.07.01

Ultra-Efficient Charge-Trapping and Interface Optimization in HfO2-TiO2 Films via Remote Plasma ALD for Cutting-Edge Memory Technology to Power Future AI Advancements

When and Where

Apr 9, 2025
5:00pm - 7:00pm
Summit, Level 2, Flex Hall C

Presenter(s)

Co-Author(s)

Inkook Hwang1,Jiwon Kim1,Changbun Yoon1,Hyosil Yang1

Tech University of Korea1

Abstract

Inkook Hwang1,Jiwon Kim1,Changbun Yoon1,Hyosil Yang1

Tech University of Korea1
With the continued scaling of semiconductor technologies to nanometer dimensions, leakage current has emerged as a critical challenge. As a result, oxide-based semiconductors, which are replacing traditional silicon-based channel layers, have garnered significant research attention. In this study, we engineered metal-insulator-semiconductor-metal (MISM) capacitors incorporating HfO2 and TiO2 thin films, which were deposited using remote plasma (RP) and direct plasma (DP) atomic layer deposition (ALD) methods, respectively. The investigation focuses on the distinct charge trapping behaviors of HfO2 and the semiconductor properties of TiO2 under varying plasma conditions.
Charge-trapping memory (CTM) devices were fabricated using HfO2 as the charge trapping layer (CTL) and TiO2 as the semiconductor channel, with Al2O3 employed as the tunneling and blocking layers to mitigate charge leakage. Optimization of the annealing temperature for TiO2 resulted in an anatase phase, enhancing its semiconductor performance. Notably, RP-deposited HfO2-TiO2 CTM devices exhibited superior memory characteristics when compared to their DP-deposited counterparts. These improvements are attributed to the reduced plasma-induced damage and contamination in the RP process, leading to a lower density of oxygen vacancies at the interface. This was further confirmed by XPS, AFM, XRD, and electrical performance evaluations, underscoring the potential of RP ALD for high-performance, cutting-edge memory applications.

This work was supported by K-CHIPS(Korea Collaborative & High-tech Initiative for Prospective Semiconductor Research) (2410000308, RS-2023-00237030, 23027-15FC) funded by the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy(MOTIE, Korea).

Keywords

atomic layer deposition | defects | plasma deposition

Symposium Organizers

Morgan Trassin, ETH Zurich
John Heron, University of Michigan
Dennis Meier, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Michele Conroy, Imperial College London

Session Chairs

Michele Conroy
Morgan Trassin

In this Session