Epitaxial Graphene Surface Preparation for Atomic Layer Deposition of Al2O3

Abstract

Atomic layer deposition was employed to deposit relatively thick ( 30 nm) aluminum oxide (Al2O3) using trimethylaluminum and triply-distilled H2O precursors onto epitaxial graphene grown on the Si-face of silicon carbide. Ex situ surface conditioning by a simple wet chemistry treatment was used to render the otherwise chemically inert graphene surface more amenable to dielectric deposition. The obtained films show excellent morphology and uniformity over large ( 64 mm2) areas (i.e., the entire sample area), as determined by atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed a nearly stoichiometric film with reduced impurity content. Moreover, from capacitance-voltage measurements a dielectric constant of 7.6 was extracted and a positive Dirac voltage shift of 1.0 V was observed. The graphene mobility, as determined by van der Pauw Hall measurements, was not affected by the sequence of surface pretreatment and dielectric deposition.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2011
Accession Number
ADA546142

Entities

People

  • C. R. Eddy Jr.
  • D. Kurt Gaskill
  • Glenn G. Jernigan
  • J. K. Hite
  • J. L. Tedesco
  • N. Y. Garces
  • Neeraj Nepal
  • Virginia D. Wheeler

Organizations

  • United States Naval Research Laboratory

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aluminum Oxides
  • Capacitance
  • Chemical Synthesis
  • Chemistry
  • Dielectric Permittivity
  • Electron Microscopy
  • Electrons
  • Materials Science
  • Measurement
  • Microscopy
  • Oxides
  • Scanning Electron Microscopy
  • Semiconductors
  • Silicon Carbide
  • Spectroscopy
  • X Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy
  • X Rays

Fields of Study

  • Materials science

Readers

  • Quantum Dot Semiconductor Device Photonics and Graphene Optoelectronic Materials and THz Physics.
  • Semiconductor Device Technology
  • Thin Film Deposition Science.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics
  • Microelectronics - Graphene