Dry oxidation of Germanium through a capping layer

Ge is a promising candidate to replace Si in MOSFET because of its superior carrier mobility, particular that of the hole. However Ge oxide is thermodynamically unstable. At elevated temperature, GeO is formed at the interface of Ge and GeO2, and its formation increases the interface defect density, degrading its device performance. In search for a method to surmount the problem, we investigated Ge oxidation through an inert capped oxide layer. For this work, we prepared low doped n-type Ge(100) wafer by removing native oxide and depositing a capping layer, and show that GeO2 interface can be successfully grown through the capping layer by thermal oxidation in a furnace. The thickness and quality of thus grown GeO2 interface was examined by ellipsometry, XPS, and AFM, along with I-V and C-V measurements performed at 100K to 300K. We will present the result of our investigation, and provide the discussion on the oxide growth rate, interface state density and electrical characteristics in comparison with other studies using the direct oxidation method.