Effects of gate-last and gate-first process on deep submicron inversion-mode InGaAs n-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors

Recently, encouraging progress has been made on surface-channel inversion-mode In-rich InGaAs NMOSFETs with superior drive current, high transconductance and minuscule gate leakage, using atomic layer deposited (ALD) high-k dielectrics. Although gate-last process is favorable for high-k/III–V integration, high-speed logic devices require a self-aligned gate-first process for reducing the parasitic resistance and overlap capacitance. On the other hand, a gate-first process usually requires higher thermal budget and may degrade the III–V device performance. In this paper, we systematically investigate the thermal budget of gate-last and gate-first process for deep-submicron InGaAs MOSFETs. We conclude that the thermal instability of (NH4)2S as the pretreatment before ALD gate dielectric formation leads to the potential failure of enhancement-mode operation and deteriorates interface quality in the gate-first process. We thus report on the detailed study of scaling metrics of deep-submicron self-aligned InGaAs MOSFET without sulfur passivation, featuring optimized threshold voltage and negligible off-state degradation.