First-principles study on oxidation of Ge and its interface electronic structures

We review a series of first-principles studies on the defect generation mechanism and electronic structures of the Ge/GeO2 interface. Several experimental and theoretical studies proved that Si atoms at the Si/SiO2 interface are emitted to release interface stress. In contrast, total-energy calculation reveals that Ge atoms at the Ge/GeO2 interface are hardly emitted, resulting in the low trap density. Even if defects are generated, those at the Ge/GeO2 interface are found to behave differently from those at the Si/SiO2 interface. The states attributed to the dangling bonds at the Ge/GeO2 interface lie below the valence-band maximum of Ge, while those at the Si/SiO2 interface generate the defect state within the band gap of Si. First-principles electron-transport calculation elucidates that this characteristic behavior of the defect states is relevant to the difference in the leakage current through the Si/SiO2 and Ge/GeO2 interfaces.