Metal-organic chemical vapor deposition of aluminium oxynitride from propylamine–dimethylaluminium hydride and oxygen: growth mode dependence and performance optimization

Abstract

AlO_xN_y thin films have been successfully obtained by new metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) chemistry using propylamine–dimethylaluminium hydride (DMAH) mixture and O₂ as precursor and oxidant, respectively. Attention has been paid to investigate the MOCVD behavior of this new precursor as a function of the process parameters in the MOCVD of AlO_xN_y films. A new growth mode based on atomic layer deposition (ALD) mechanism has been carried out to optimize the MOCVD process. Compared to the normal mode, suppressed interface growth and improved electrical properties have been observed for ALD-mode-derived samples. Electrical measurements based on post-deposition annealing (PDA) and forming gas annealing (FGA) processed samples have indicated that better electrical performance are achieved in FGA-derived AlO_xN_y films. Based on analysis and observations, it can be concluded that ALD-mode-derived AlO_xN_y films grown by ALD MOCVD chemistry demonstrate potential application as high-k candidates in future nano-devices taking advantage of the improved physical and electrical performance.