The scaling down of modern nano-electronic devices, based on a MOS structure, has motivated an intense activity on high-k dielectrics grown on silicon as well as on high mobility substrates, such as strained-silicon, Ge, and GaAs. Among the most important deposition methods we find atomic layer deposition (ALD) and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE).

Defects at the semiconductor/high-k interface and in the dielectric layers play a crucial role in determining the device performance. There is a need to identify the microscopic structure of electrically active point defects in the dielectric and at its interface with the semiconductor.

The investigation of the early stages of growth is an important step towards the understanding of the growth mechanisms and interface formation. While in UHV deposition techniques, such as MBE, this study can be pursued with a variety of surface characterization methods, the ALD growth environment prevents the use of most of these powerful tools and limits these studies.

I will report on the in-situ characterization by electrically detected magnetic resonance spectroscopy (EDMR) and spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE), of the early stages of ALD growth of selected oxides on silicon, strained-silicon, and germanium. These investigations have been carried out using a novel home-made system where a small ALD chamber has been connected to an electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrometer and an ALD growth chamber equipped with an ellipsometer.

The in-situ characterization is compared with the ex-situ investigation of the high-k/semiconductor interface based on various techniques.

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