Characteristics of $ZrO2$ gate dielectrics on $O2$- and $N2O$-plasma treated partially strain-compensated $Si0.69Ge0.3C0.01$ layers

The characteristics of $ZrO2$ gate dielectric along with the interfacial layer on $O2$- and $N2O$-plasma treated partially strain-compensated $Si0.69Ge0.3C0.01∕Si$ heterostructures have been investigated using spectroscopic and electrical measurements. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses show the formation of an oxygen or nitrogen rich Zr-germanosilicate interfacial layer between the deposited $ZrO2$ and SiGeC films. The electrical and charge trapping properties under a constant current stressing have been studied using a metal-oxide-semiconductor structure. The $N2O$-plasma treated SiGeC film has a higher effective dielectric constant $(k∼14)$ than that of the $O2$-plasma treated $(k∼12)$ films. The equivalent areal densities of charge defects, $Neq$ $(cm−2)$⁠, are found to be $∼1.8×1012$ and $∼6×1011cm−2$ for $O2$- and $N2O$-plasma treated films, respectively. Considerably less trapped charges in the $N2O$-treated gate dielectric stack under constant current stressing make it highly attractive for SiGeC based scaled metal-oxide-semiconductor device applications.