Manipulation of stored charge in anodic aluminium oxide/SiO 2 dielectric stacks by the use of pulsed anodisation

Abstract

A method of fabricating anodic aluminium oxide (AAO) with the capability of manipulating its stored charge is reported. This method involves the use of a pulsed current source to anodise aluminium layers instead of the typically used constant current/voltage source, with the test structures experiencing positive and negative cycles periodically. By tuning the positive cycle percentage, it is demonstrated that the effective stored charge density can be manipulated in a range from -5.2 × 10 11 to 2.5 × 10 12 q/cm 2 when the AAO is formed over a 12 nm SiO 2 layer. An investigation of the stored charge distribution in the dielectric stacks indicates a positive fixed charge at the SiO 2 /Si inter..