AMORPHOUS MULTI-COMPONENT METALLIC THIN FILMS FOR ELECTRONIC DEVICES

• US 20100289005A1
• Filed: 05/10/2010
• Published: 11/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oregon State University (Oregon University System)
• Original Assignee: Oregon State University (Oregon University System)
• Inventors: Cowell, E. William III, Wager, John F., Gibbons, Brady J., Keszler, Douglas A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,436,337 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 257/29
• CPC Class Codes: C22C 16/00 Alloys based on zirconium
• CPC Class Codes: C22C 45/10 with molybdenum, tungsten, niobium, tantalum, titanium, or zirconium or Hf as the major constituent
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/66265 Thin film bipolar transistors H01L29/66242 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/66272 Silicon vertical transistors H01L29/66242, H01L29/66257 and H01L29/66265 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/7311 Tunnel transistors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/7317 Bipolar thin film transistors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/732 Vertical transistors
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 70/00 Solid-state devices having no potential barriers, and specially adapted for rectifying, amplifying, oscillating or switching integrated devices or assemblies of multiple devices H10N79/00

Abstract

An electronic structure comprising: (a) a first metal layer; (b) a second metal layer; (c) and at least one insulator layer located between the first metal layer and the second metal layer, wherein at least one of the metal layers comprises an amorphous multi-component metallic film. In certain embodiments, the construct is a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) diode.

Claims

1. An electronic device structure comprising:

(a) a first metal layer;

(b) a second metal layer;

(c) and at least one insulator layer located between the first metal layer and the second metal layer,

wherein at least one of the metal layers comprises an amorphous multi-component metallic film.

2. The structure of claim 1, wherein the structure is a metal-insulator-metal diode and the first metal layer is a first electrode and the second metal layer is a second electrode.

3. The structure of claim 1, wherein the amorphous multi-component metallic film has a resistivity of at least 100 Ω

-cm.

4. The structure of claim 1, wherein the amorphous multi-component metallic film comprises at least one element selected from Groups IV, V, VI, X, Al, Mg, Sn or Zn.

5. The structure of claim 1, wherein the amorphous multi-component metallic film is selected from ZrCuAlNi or TiAl₃.

6. The structure of claim 2, wherein the first metal layer comprises the amorphous multi-component metallic film and the second metal layer is not an amorphous multi-component metallic film.

7. The structure of claim 2, wherein the first metal layer comprises an amorphous multi-component metallic film comprising TiAl₃.

8. The structure of claim 6, wherein the first metal layer and the insulator layer form a first metal layer/insulator layer interface and the first metal layer/insulator layer interface enables Fowler-Nordheim tunneling when a predetermined electric field is applied to the diode structure.

9. The structure of claim 2, wherein the first metal layer comprises an amorphous multi-component metallic film comprising ZrCuAlNi.

10. The structure of claim 2, wherein the first metal layer has a thickness of 10 to 500 nm, the insulator layer has a thickness of 1 to 50 nm, and the second metal layer has a thickness of at least 10 nm.

11. The structure of claim 1, wherein the structure is an electron injection structure.

12. A hot electron transistor structure, comprising:

(a) an emitter electrode;

(b) an emitter dielectric;

(c) a base electrode;

(d) a collector dielectric; and

(e) a collector electrode,

wherein at least one of the emitter electrode or the base electrode comprises an amorphous multi-component metallic film.

13. An electronic structure comprising:

(a) at least one electrode comprising an amorphous multi-component metallic film; and

(b) at least one other layer positioned adjacent to amorphous multi-component film.

14. The structure of claim 13, wherein the other layer comprises a semiconductor material and the electrode and the semiconductor material form an interface.

16. The structure of claim 14, wherein the other layer comprises an insulating material and the electrode and the insulating material form an interface.

17. A method for making an electronic device structure comprising:

forming an amorphous multi-component metallic film electrode on a first substrate; and

depositing at least one layer on the multi-component metallic film electrode.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the multi-component metallic film electrode is formed via sputtering, and the at least one layer is formed via sputtering, atomic layer deposition or solution processing.

19. A method for making a metal-insulator-metal diode comprising:

forming a first electrode on a first substrate wherein the first electrode defines a first surface facing the first substrate and an opposing second surface;

forming an insulator layer on the second surface of the first electrode, wherein the insulator layer defines a first surface facing the first electrode and an opposing second surface; and

forming a second electrode on the second surface of the insulator layer,

wherein at least one of the electrodes comprises an amorphous multi-component metallic film.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the amorphous multi-component metallic film is formed via sputtering.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the sputtering is DC magnetron sputtering.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the first electrode comprises an amorphous multi-component metallic film that was formed via sputtering, and the insulator layer and the second electrode are each individually formed via sputtering, atomic layer deposition or solution processing.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the amorphous multi-component metallic film comprises at least one element selected from Groups IV, V, VI, X, Al, Mg, Sn or Zn.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the amorphous multi-component metallic film is selected from ZrCuAlNi or TiAl₃.