1.0 nm oxynitride dielectrics prepared by RTP in mixtures of N-2 and O-2 ambient

Abstract

This work presents a reliable method of growing aggressively scaled, 1.0 nm thick, gate dielectric in mixtures of N-2 and O-2 ambient at 900degreesC for 15 s by rapid thermal processing (RTP). These oxynitride films have excellent interface properties, 100 times lower leakage current density, and better charge trapping properties than rapid thermal oxidation SiO2 of identical thickness prepared in pure O-2 ambient. The effect of interfacial nitrogen concentration on the device characteristics with gate oxynitride films grown in various N-2/O-2 gas flow ratios was also investigated. The results demonstrate that the uniform nitrogen content increases with the N-2/O-2 gas flow ratio and that high-quality oxynitride films can be obtained by RTP in an optimum gas flow ratio of N-2/O-2 = 5/1 (slm). (C) 2004 The Electrochemical Society.