Novel Techniques and Modern Applications of Electrically Detected Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and Near-Zero-Field Magnetoresistance
Open Access
- Author:
- Myers, Kenneth
- Graduate Program:
- Materials Science and Engineering
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- May 02, 2022
- Committee Members:
- Suzanne Mohney, Outside Unit & Field Member
Patrick Lenahan, Chair & Dissertation Advisor
Mark Horn, Major Field Member
Saptarshi Das, Major Field Member
John Mauro, Program Head/Chair - Keywords:
- Semiconductors
Electrically Detected Magnetic Resonance
Near Zero Field Magnetoresistance
Electron Paramagnetic Resonance
Electron Nuclear Double Resonance
Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy
Silicon
Silicon Dioxide
Negative Bias Temperature Instability
FinFET
Hafnium Dioxide
Amorphous Boron - Abstract:
- In the field of electronic materials and devices, understanding performance-limiting defects has been one of the biggest challenges to overcome in improving modern computing technology. The premier method used in identifying such defects in semiconducting and insulating materials over the decades has undoubtably been electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and its related techniques. Used mainly in bulk material analysis, EPR can extract the chemical and physical identity of point defects in these types of materials with a sensitivity of about 10 billion total defects. For bulk samples, this sensitivity is great enough to analyze most systems; however, in modern micro- and nano-scale transistors, the total number of defects is much smaller and cannot be investigated with conventional EPR. This limitation can be overcome by the application of electrical detection to EPR and is known as electrically detected magnetic resonance (EDMR). EDMR has been shown to improve the sensitivity of EPR to nearly one thousand defects and is inarguably the most powerful technique for studying the physical and chemical nature of performance-limiting defects in modern electronics. The variety of methods employed through EDMR allow the technique to be utilized in the study of many device structures. In addition to EDMR, the related near-zero-field magnetoresistance (NZFMR) effect can also provide more information about the defect systems in such device structures. Recent developments have shown that NZFMR is a powerful technique when utilized in conjunction with EDMR, providing insight into carrier capture rates as well as the impacts of magnetic nuclei nearby the point defects under study. This research discussed in this thesis includes the application of a number of these techniques to modern electronic devices, the expansion of electrically detected electron nuclear double resonance, and the development of a new EDMR method: spin-dependent transient spectroscopy (SDTS). The fundamentals, applications, and advantages of each technique used in these studies will be discussed in later chapters. Additionally, SDTS will be covered in detail as well as the techniques that formed the basis of the method itself: deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) and spin-dependent DLTS. The development of these techniques could provide a significant advance in the understanding of modern electronic devices, and their performance-limiting defects.