HfO2 Inter-Poly Dielectric Characteristics with Interface Fluorine Passivation

Abstract

In this paper, the reliabilities and insulating characteristics of the fluorinated hafnium oxide (HIO2) inter-poly dielectric (IPD) through fluorine ion implantation are studied for the first time. HfO2 IPD characteristics are strongly dependent on the fluorine implantation dosage. Due to the terminating dangling bonds and oxygen vacancies, reducing interface oxidation and smoothing interface roughness, optimized fluorinated HfO2 can be used to drastically improve the IPD reliabilities; consequently, this study concludes that fluorinated HfO2 IPD is suitable for mass production applications in the future stacked-gate flash memory technology.