Use of metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors in the analysis of low-temperature epitaxial Si films deposited by remote plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

This article discusses the electrical characterization of low-temperature intrinsic Si films deposited by remote plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors were fabricated on films deposited over a range of temperatures. Conventional MOS measurements such as capacitance versus voltage, breakdown voltage, Zerbst plot, and charge-to-breakdown were used to analyze the capacitors. The results of these measurements not only yielded information about the electrical properties of the films, but also led to conclusions regarding structural quality and the presence of metal contamination. This, coupled with the fact that capacitor fabrication requires only a simple, moderate-thermal budget process, makes MOS capacitor measurements an attractive technique for the characterization of low temperature epitaxial Si films. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.