The Role of Carrier Injection in the Breakdown Mechanism of Amorphous Al2O3 Layers

P. La Torraca; A. Padovani; J. Strand; A. Shluger; L. Larcher

doi:10.1109/LED.2023.3337882

The Role of Carrier Injection in the Breakdown Mechanism of Amorphous Al₂O₃ Layers

P. La Torraca
, A. Padovani
, J. Strand
, A. Shluger
, L. Larcher

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

We investigated the dielectric breakdown (BD) mechanism in amorphous alumina (a-Al2O3) metal-insulator-metal (MIM) stacks. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that oxygen vacancy ( V_ O) generation in a-Al2O3 occurs via thermochemical (TC) bond-breaking and, more efficiently, via newly discovered pathways enabled by charge trapping in under-coordinated Al ions (UC _ Als ) and in existing V_ Os. Multiscale simulations show the importance of these processes, which allow explaining the experimental BD dynamics in a-Al2O3, and provide valuable insights into the role of carriers' injection in the degradation and reliability of high-k materials.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	236-239
Number of pages	4
Journal	IEEE Electron Device Letters
Volume	45
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/LED.2023.3337882
Publication status	Published - 1 Feb 2024

Keywords

Amorphous alumina
atomic defects
breakdown
carrier injection
high-k dielectric

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10.1109/LED.2023.3337882

https://hdl.handle.net/10468/15591Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

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abstract = "We investigated the dielectric breakdown (BD) mechanism in amorphous alumina (a-Al2O3) metal-insulator-metal (MIM) stacks. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that oxygen vacancy ( V\_ O) generation in a-Al2O3 occurs via thermochemical (TC) bond-breaking and, more efficiently, via newly discovered pathways enabled by charge trapping in under-coordinated Al ions (UC \_ Als ) and in existing V\_ Os. Multiscale simulations show the importance of these processes, which allow explaining the experimental BD dynamics in a-Al2O3, and provide valuable insights into the role of carriers' injection in the degradation and reliability of high-k materials.",

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AU - La Torraca, P.

AU - Padovani, A.

AU - Strand, J.

AU - Shluger, A.

AU - Larcher, L.

PY - 2024/2/1

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N2 - We investigated the dielectric breakdown (BD) mechanism in amorphous alumina (a-Al2O3) metal-insulator-metal (MIM) stacks. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that oxygen vacancy ( V_ O) generation in a-Al2O3 occurs via thermochemical (TC) bond-breaking and, more efficiently, via newly discovered pathways enabled by charge trapping in under-coordinated Al ions (UC _ Als ) and in existing V_ Os. Multiscale simulations show the importance of these processes, which allow explaining the experimental BD dynamics in a-Al2O3, and provide valuable insights into the role of carriers' injection in the degradation and reliability of high-k materials.

AB - We investigated the dielectric breakdown (BD) mechanism in amorphous alumina (a-Al2O3) metal-insulator-metal (MIM) stacks. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that oxygen vacancy ( V_ O) generation in a-Al2O3 occurs via thermochemical (TC) bond-breaking and, more efficiently, via newly discovered pathways enabled by charge trapping in under-coordinated Al ions (UC _ Als ) and in existing V_ Os. Multiscale simulations show the importance of these processes, which allow explaining the experimental BD dynamics in a-Al2O3, and provide valuable insights into the role of carriers' injection in the degradation and reliability of high-k materials.

KW - Amorphous alumina

KW - atomic defects

KW - breakdown

KW - carrier injection

KW - high-k dielectric

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JO - IEEE Electron Device Letters

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The Role of Carrier Injection in the Breakdown Mechanism of Amorphous Al₂O₃ Layers

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