Electron spin resonance observations of oxygen deficient silicon atoms in the interfacial layer of hafnium oxide based metal-oxide-silicon structures

Conventional electron spin resonance measurements indicate gross processing dependent differences in the densities of paramagnetic oxygen deficient silicon sites, E′ centers, in the interfacial layer of unstressed hafnium oxide based metal-oxide-silicon structures. (E′ centers are not usually observed in unstressed oxides.) The volume densities of these centers can be quite high (∼1× 1019 cm-3). Electrically detected magnetic resonance measurements suggest that related oxygen deficient sites may significantly degrade device performance and reliability.