Systematic investigation of amorphous transition-metal-silicon-nitride electrodes for metal gate CMOS applications

Select amorphous metals (transition-metal-silicon-nitride: TaSiN, MoSiN, HfSiN, TiSiN), were systematically evaluated for their electrical (effective work function) and physical (XRD, HRTEM, HAADF-STEM, EELS) properties. Effective work function values spanning 4.16 to 4.8 eV were observed for these materials after a 1000/spl deg/C anneal and on both SiO/sub 2/ and Hf based high-k dielectrics, making them attractive candidates for future generation CMOS metal gates.