Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 45 (2006) pp. 2954-2960  |Previous Article| |Next Article|  |Table of Contents|
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Characterization of Local Current Leakage in La₂O₃–Al₂O₃ Composite Films by Conductive Atomic Force Microscopy

Akiyoshi Seko, Toshifumi Sago, Mitsuo Sakashita, Akira Sakai, Masaki Ogawa¹ and Shigeaki Zaima

(Received September 30, 2005; accepted December 27, 2005; published online April 25, 2006)

We have observed local current leakage in La₂O₃–Al₂O₃ composite films using conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM). The La₂O₃–Al₂O₃ composite films were synthesized by pulsed laser deposition and post deposition annealing. Current–voltage characteristics obtained from the average current detection from C-AFM current images agreed well with these from MOS capacitors made from the film, and the effect of the local current leakage sites on general current leakage properties of the capacitor was demonstrated. Appearance of current leakage spots is clearly dependent on the voltage measured during C-AFM observations. We confirmed that there are at least three types of leakage spots which have different voltage dependence and discussed the origin of these leakage spots. Breakdown and degradation in this film were also demonstrated.

URL: http://jjap.jsap.jp/link?JJAP/45/2954/
DOI: 10.1143/JJAP.45.2954
KEYWORDS:conductive atomic force microscopy, gate high-k dielectric film, La₂O₃–Al₂O₃ composite film, local leakage current, reliability

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