Effect of atomic hydrogen annealing on AlOx/GeOx/a-Ge stack structure

Abstract

In order to improve the electrical characteristics of the fabricated AlOx/GeOx/a-Ge stack structure on a quartz substrate by thermal treatment, the effect of Atomic Hydrogen Annealing (AHA) was investigated. The AlOx/GeOx stack structure was exposed to atomic hydrogen generated by catalytic cracking reaction. We measured the change in the electrical properties by AHA treatment and studied the reaction with atomic hydrogen in the insulator films. The reduction of leakage current by 1 order of magnitude and the improvement of hysteresis were confirmed by current-voltage measurement and capacitance-voltage measurement, respectively. It is assumed that GeOxnetwork is stabilized including the Al atoms in it and reducing the energetically unstable bonds.