Charge storage in silicon-implanted silicondioxide layers examined by scanning probe microscopy

Ion beam synthesis is a promising technique to generate embedded nanoclusters in thin insulating layers for prospective memory devices. At present the electronic structure of clusters in oxide layers and the respective charge storage mechanism are not well understood. Moreover, it is still unclear, whether cluster-related or damage-related states in the silica network are predominant. Here, we report on the charge trapping in silicon implanted SiO2 layers using scanning capacitance microscopy and scanning force microscopy.
Silicondioxide layers on (100) oriented silicon with a thickness of 25nm were silicon implanted with different doses and subsequently annealed at high temperatures (1050°C/1150°C). Charge injection into the insulating layer was accomplished by applying a bias between the conductive probing tip and the substrate. Local as well as scanning injection in quadratic areas was performed in the contact mode. Scanning capacitance microscopy images taken at different times after injection show the charge patterns and their retention characteristics. For a quantitative estimate of the trapped oxide charge densities the peak shifts of the local dC/dV curves were evaluated. The strongest trapping effect was found for heavily silicon-implanted (2e16cm-2) SiO2 on p-substrate. Complementary information about local charge trapping was obtained from scanning force microscopy images. Sequences of voltages with different polarity were used to study the trapping/ detrapping kinetics and allowed a comparison of the degradation and the programmability of the different oxide layers.