Effective workfunction control in TmSiO/HfO2 high-k/metal gate stacks

Integration of high-k interfacial layers in CMOS technology has been proposed to overcome the scaling limitations of the SiOx/HfO2 dielectric stack. Candidate high-k interfacial layers have to be compatible with strict requirements in terms of EOT, inversion layer mobility, threshold voltage control and device reliability. We have previously demonstrated a CMOS-compatible process for integration of thulium silicate (TmSiO) as interfacial layer, providing advantages in terms of EOT and channel mobility. This work demonstrates the compatibility of the TmSiO/HfO2 stack with the threshold voltage control techniques commonly employed in gate-last and gate-first integration schemes, namely the use of a dual-metal process and the integration of dielectric capping layers. We show that the flatband voltage can be set from −1V to +0.5V by proper choice of gate metal, while a shift of 150–400 mV is achievable by means of integration of Al2O3 or La2O3 capping layers.