A Highly Reliable Back Side Illuminated Pixel against Plasma Induced Damage

Sacchettini, Y.; Carrere, J.-P.; Doyen, C.; Duru, Romain; Courouble, Kristell; Ricq, Stéphane; Goiffon, Vincent; Magnan, Pierre

doi:10.1109/iedm19573.2019.8993561

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 10 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…On the other hand, compared with the S1_0 nm + FGA sample, which had the most fixed charges in the first experiment, the sign of Q f was the opposite. It means that the doping types of the pixel substrates of the two samples that can be applied to the CIS are opposite [12], [13]. In other words, the S2 + FGA sample can still be effectively applied to the CIS passivation layer.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A high-k passivation layer can be introduced to increase the full-well capacitance [10] and provide an additional solution for the dark-current issue. This solution is attributed to the field-effect passivation caused by the fixed charge present inside the high-k material [11], [12]. However, the field-effect passivation is insufficient for overcoming the dark-current problem.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Curing Process on Passivation Layer for Backside-Illuminated CMOS Image Sensor Application

Park

Choi

et al. 2023

IEEE Access

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We fabricated Al/Al 2 O 3 /SiO 2 /Si and Al/HfO 2 /Si structures to optimize the passivation layer of a backside-illuminated (BSI) complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor (CIS), with the key properties of the newly developed high-k passivation layer analyzed via border traps, interface traps, and fixed charges. In the first experiment using Al 2 O 3 /SiO 2 bilayer-based structures, different thicknesses of SiO 2 were applied from 0 to 15 nm. The improvement in their properties was confirmed by applying forming gas annealing (FGA), a type of post-treatment, to all experimental systems. The first experiment results indicated that both the SiO 2 layer and FGA were effective for chemical passivation. However, a tradeoff occurred in the degree of improvement of the interface trap density (D it ) and fixed-charge density (Q f ) according to the SiO 2 layer thickness. Subsequently, in the second experiment using HfO 2 single-layerbased structures, FGA improved the border trap to a relatively poor extent compared to the first experiment. Nevertheless, FGA improved the electrical characteristics of the HfO 2 films without any side effects and results in optimal D it and |Q f /q| values of 2.59 × 10 11 eV −1 cm −2 and 1.00 × 10 12 cm −2 , respectively, demonstrating its potential for the passivation layer in BSI CIS applications.INDEX TERMS Plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition, forming gas annealing, CMOS image sensor, surface passivation, SiO 2 , HfO 2 .

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Curing Process on Passivation Layer for Backside-Illuminated CMOS Image Sensor Application

Park

Choi

et al. 2023

IEEE Access

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The quality of the dielectric and interface areas increased with a decrease in carbon impurity contents. In addition, posttreatments provided sufficient fixed charges for the Al 2 O 3 dielectric to be used as the passivation layer of the CIS [ 11 , 12 ]. However, a low D it is required for next-generation CIS devices.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

H2 Plasma and PMA Effects on PEALD-Al2O3 Films with Different O2 Plasma Exposure Times for CIS Passivation Layers

Choi

Park

et al. 2023

Nanomaterials

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this study, the electrical properties of Al2O3 film were analyzed and optimized to improve the properties of the passivation layer of CMOS image sensors (CISs). During Al2O3 deposition processing, the O2 plasma exposure time was adjusted, and H2 plasma treatment as well as post-metallization annealing (PMA) were performed as posttreatments. The flat-band voltage (Vfb) was significantly shifted (Vfb = 2.54 V) in the case of the Al2O3 film with a shorter O2 plasma exposure time; however, with a longer O2 plasma exposure time, Vfb was slightly shifted (Vfb = 0.61 V) owing to the reduction in the carbon impurity content. Additionally, the as-deposited Al2O3 sample with a shorter O2 plasma exposure time had a larger number of interface traps (interface trap density, Dit = 8.98 × 1013 eV−1·cm−2). However, Dit was reduced to 1.12 × 1012 eV−1·cm−2 by increasing the O2 plasma exposure time and further reduced after PMA. Consequently, we fabricated an Al2O3 film suitable for application as a CIS passivation layer with a reduced number of interface traps. However, the Al2O3 film with increased O2 plasma exposure time deteriorated owing to plasma damage after H2 plasma treatment, which is a method of reducing carbon impurity content. This deterioration was validated using the C–V hump and breakdown characteristics.

show abstract

“…[22,23] Regarding Auger and surface recombination at the back side of the device, atomic layer deposited (ALD) Al 2 O 3 film could be used to replace the recombination active BSF. [24,25] Not only can it provide efficient field effect passivation via the high negative fixed charge with surface density of ≈10 12 cm −2 present in the film, but it is also well known to provide efficient chemical passivation of the nanostructures through excellent conformality. [26,27] In this work, our goal is to demonstrate how surface nanoengineering can be utilized to achieve excellent QE over a wide wavelength range with CMOS image sensors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

CMOS Image Sensor for Broad Spectral Range with >90% Quantum Efficiency

Setälä

Prest

Stefanov

et al. 2023

Small

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Even though the recent progress made in complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors (CIS) has enabled numerous applications affecting our daily lives, the technology still relies on conventional methods such as antireflective coatings and ion‐implanted back‐surface field to reduce optical and electrical losses resulting in limited device performance. In this work, these methods are replaced with nanostructured surfaces and atomic layer deposited surface passivation. The results show that such surface nanoengineering applied to a commercial backside illuminated CIS significantly extends its spectral range and enhances its photosensitivity as demonstrated by >90% quantum efficiency in the 300–700 nm wavelength range. The surface nanoengineering also reduces the dark current by a factor of three. While the photoresponse uniformity of the sensor is seen to be slightly better, possible scattering from the nanostructures can lead to increased optical crosstalk between the pixels. The results demonstrate the vast potential of surface nanoengineering in improving the performance of CIS for a wide range of applications.

show abstract

A Highly Reliable Back Side Illuminated Pixel against Plasma Induced Damage

Cited by 5 publications

References 10 publications

Curing Process on Passivation Layer for Backside-Illuminated CMOS Image Sensor Application

Curing Process on Passivation Layer for Backside-Illuminated CMOS Image Sensor Application

H2 Plasma and PMA Effects on PEALD-Al2O3 Films with Different O2 Plasma Exposure Times for CIS Passivation Layers

CMOS Image Sensor for Broad Spectral Range with >90% Quantum Efficiency

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About