Suppression of GeO_x interfacial layer and enhancement of the electrical performance of the high-<i>K</i> gate stack by the atomic-layer-deposited AlN buffer layer on Ge metal-oxide-semiconductor devices

Abstract

. Hence, significant enhancement of the electrical characteristics of Ge metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors was achieved with a two-orders-of-magnitude reduction in the gate leakage current, a 34% enhancement of the MOS capacitance, and a lower interfacial state density. The results indicate that the AlN buffer layer is effective in providing a high-quality interface to improve the electrical performance of advanced Ge MOS devices.