Interface Effects in Ultrathin Silicon on Insulator Films

ABSTRACT Dopant ionization in ultrathin Si films remains poorly investigated at the nanoscale. In this work, independent control of device layer thickness ( H SOI ) from 30 to 8 nm, dopant concentration ( n D ) from 10 18 to ∼10 20 cm −3 , and interface quality establishes a systematic framework to discriminate how bulk and interface phenomena affect charge transport in P‐doped silicon‐on‐insulator (SOI) films. When H SOI = 30 nm, transport properties are fully compatible with similarly doped bulk Si. Conversely, when H SOI < 30 nm, a concomitant carrier dose ( N e ) and mobility ( µ e ) reduction is observed. This effect, enhanced decreasing n D , is attributed to non‐passivated interface states at the Si/SiO 2 interface and can be significantly mitigated by rapid thermal oxidation (RTO). Electron‐paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and capacitance‐voltage (CV) measurements allow the correlation between the quality of the RTO‐SiO 2 /Si interface and electrical properties. After interface engineering, low‐temperature electrical characterization revealed a shift of the critical dopant concentration corresponding to the metal‐insulator transition and a significant increase in P ionization energy ( E d ) in samples with H SOI ≤ 15 nm. These results are discussed considering the dielectric mismatch between Si and SiO 2 and the electrostatic confinement within an ultrathin conductive channel, which arises from Si device layer depletion induced by electron trapping at the Si/SiO 2 interface.