Direct Defect-Level Analysis of Metal-Insulator-Metal Capacitor Using Internal Photoemission Spectroscopy

Barrier height (phi(b)), trap state, bandgap (E-g), and band alignment information of the metal-ZrO2-metal capacitor have been extracted using internal photoemission (IPE) system. By correlating the IPE analysis with I-V and C-V characteristics obtained before and after rapid thermal annealing, origin and transformation of defect states have been successfully investigated. Our analysis revealed that deep-level defects originating from oxygen vacancies near the top electrode are causing of leakage current in MIM capacitor and these defects can be effectively reduced by a proper thermal annealing.

Automated summary

Barrier height, trap state, bandgap, and band alignment information of the metal-ZrO2-metal capacitor were extracted using internal photoemission (IPE) system. By correlating the IPE analysis with I-V and C-V characteristics before and after rapid thermal annealing, the origin and transformation of defect states were successfully investigated. The analysis revealed that deep-level defects originating from oxygen vacancies near the top electrode are the cause of leakage current in MIM capacitor, which can be effectively reduced by proper thermal annealing.