The author focuses on the surface passivation mechanism of Al₂O₃ and how it is related to its material properties. The chapter starts off with a short description of the fundamentals of surface recombination stressing the importance of the electronic properties of the c-Si/Al₂O₃ interface with respect to defect density and fixed charge. Next, an overview is presented of the electronic properties for Al₂O₃ layers synthesised on c-Si substrates by various techniques. Finally, these electronic properties are related to the atomic-scale material properties for Al₂O₃ films with a particular focus on the, typically unintentional, presence of an interfacial silicon oxide film.

Chapter Contents:

• 3.1 Introduction
• 3.2 Surface recombination fundamentals
• 3.3 Electronic properties of the c-Si/Al2O3 interface
• 3.4 Atomic composition of the c-Si/Si/Al2O3 interface and its relation to its electronic properties
• 3.5 Long-term stability of the silicon surface passivation by Al2O3
• 3.6 Conclusion
• References

Inspec keywords: passivation; defect states; surface states; alumina; elemental semiconductors; surface recombination; semiconductor-insulator boundaries; silicon

Other keywords: fixed charge; defect density; crystalline silicon surface; c-Si substrates; surface recombination; Si; interfacial oxide film; Al₂O₃-Si; surface passivation

Subjects: Impurity and defect levels in elemental semiconductors; Electrical properties of metal-insulator-semiconductor structures; Electrical properties of elemental semiconductors (thin films, low-dimensional and nanoscale structures); Metal-insulator-semiconductor structures; Elemental semiconductors; Surface impurity and defect levels; energy levels of adsorbed species; Surface treatment (semiconductor technology); Surface treatment and degradation in semiconductor technology