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Progress in advanced microlithography and deposition techniques have made feasible high- k dielectric materials for MOS transistors. The continued scaling of CMOS devices is pushing the Si-SiO2 to its limit to consider high-k gate dielectrics. The demand for faster, low power, smaller, less expensive devices with good functionality and higher performance increases the demand for high-k dielectric based MOS devices. This thesis gives an in-depth study of threshold voltages of PMOS and NMOS transistors using various high-k dielectric materials like Tantalum pent oxide (Ta2O5), Hafnium oxide (HfO2), Zirconium oxide (ZrO2) and Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) gate oxides. Higher dielectric constant may lead to high oxide capacitance (Cox), which affects the threshold voltage (VT) of the device. The working potential of MOS devices can be increased by high dielectric gate oxide and work function of gate metal which may also influence the threshold voltage (VT). High dielectric materials have low gate leakage current, high breakdown voltage and are thermally stable on Silicon Substrate (Si). Different kinds of deposition techniques for different gate oxides, gate metals and stability over silicon substrates are analyzed theoretically. The impact of the properties of gate oxides such as oxide thickness, interface trap charges, doping concentration on threshold voltage were simulated, plotted and studied. This study involved comparisons of oxides-oxides, metals-metals, and metals-oxides. Gate metals and alloys with work function of less than 5eV would be suitable candidates for aluminum oxide, hafnium oxide etc. based MOSFETs.

Femtosecond Laser Direct Writing (FLDW) is a viable technique for producing photonic devices in bulk materials. This novel manufacturing technique is versatile due to its full 3D fabrication capability. Typically, the only requirement for this process is that the base material must be transparent to the laser wavelength. The modification process itself is based on non-linear energy absorption of laser light within the focal volume of the incident beam. This thesis addresses the feasibility of this technique for introducing photonic structures into novel dielectric materials. Additionally, this work provides a deeper understanding of the lightmatter interaction mechanism occurring at high pulse repetition rates. A novel structure on the sample surface in the form of nano-fibers was observed when the bulk material was irradiated with high repetition rate pulse trains. To utilize the advantages of the FLDW technique even further, a transfer of the technology from dielectric to semiconductor materials is investigated. However, this demands detailed insight of the absorption and modification processes themselves. Experiments and the results suggested that non-linear absorption, specifically avalanche ionization, is the limiting factor inhibiting the application of FLDW to bulk semiconductors with today’s laser sources.

Yes / The antenna array designed to operate over 0.450-0.475 Terahertz comprises two dielectric resonators (DRs) that are stacked vertically on top of each other and placed on the surface of the slot antenna fabricated on a silicon substrate using standard CMOS technology. The slot created in the silicon substrate is meandering and is surrounded by metallic via-wall to prevent energy dissipation. The antenna has a maximum gain of 4.5dBi and radiation efficiency of 45.7% at 0.4625 THz. The combination of slot and vias transform the antenna to a metamaterial structure that provides a relatively small antenna footprint. The proposed series-fed double DRs on-chip antenna array is useful for applications in THz integrated circuits. / Partially supported by innovation programme under grant agreement H2020-MSCA-ITN-2016 SECRET-722424 and the financial support from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) under grant EP/E0/22936/1.

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A study of procedures and techniques of measuring dielectric constant and dipole moment of liquids.

Low-k dielectrics with porosity are being introduced to reduce the RC delay of Cu/low-k interconnect. However, during the O2 plasma ashing process, the porous low-k dielectrics tend to degrade due to methyl depletion, moisture uptake, and densification, increasing the dielectric constant and leakage current. This dissertation presents a study of the mechanisms of plasma damage and dielectric recovery. The kinetics of plasma interaction with low-k dielectrics was investigated both experimentally and theoretically. By using a gap structure, the roles of ion, photon, and radical in producing damage on low-k dielectrics were differentiated. Oxidative plasma induced damage was proportional to the oxygen radical density, enhanced by VUV photon, and increased with substrate temperature. Ion bombardment induced surface densification, blocking radical diffusion. Two analytical models were derived to quantify the plasma damage. Based on the radical diffusion, reaction, and recombination inside porous low-k dielectrics, a plasma altered layer model was derived to interpret the chemical effect in the low ion energy region. It predicted that oxidative plasma induced damage can be reduced by decreasing pore radius, substrate temperature, and oxygen radical density and increasing carbon concentration and surface recombination rate inside low-k dielectrics. The model validity was verified by experiments and Monte-Carlo simulations. This model was also extended to the patterned low-k structure. Based on the ion collision cascade process, a sputtering yield model was introduced to interpret the physical effect in the high ion energy region. The model validity was verified by checking the ion angular and energy dependences of sputtering yield using O2/He/Ar plasma, low-k dielectrics with different k values, and a Faraday cage. Low-k dielectrics and plasma process were optimized to reduce plasma damage, including increasing carbon concentration in low-k dielectrics, switching plasma generator from ICP to RIE, increasing hard mask thickness, replacing O2 by CO2 plasma, increasing CO addition in CO/O2 plasma, and increasing N2 addition in CO2/N2 plasma. By combining analytical techniques with the Kramers-Kronig dispersion relation and quantum chemistry calculation, the origin of dielectric loss was ascribed to the physisorbed water molecules. Post-ash CH4 plasma treatment, vapor silylation process, and UV radiation were developed to repair plasma damage. / text