Improvement of TDDB reliability, characteristics of HfO2 high-k/metal gate MOSFET device with oxygen post deposition annealing

In this work, influences of oxygen effect on an Hf-based high-k gate dielectric were investigated. A post deposition annealing (PDA) including oxygen ion after high-k dielectric deposition was used to improve reliability of the Hf-based high-k/metal gate device. The basic electrical characteristics of devices were compared with and without the PDA process. Experiment results show that the oxygen PDA did not degrade the drive current and effective oxide thickness of the Hf-based gate devices. In addition, reliability issues such as positive bias instability, negative bias instability and TDDB were also improved by the oxygen PDA significantly. During the TDDB test, the charge trapping was characterized by an in situ charge pumping system, which could make us to understand the variations of interface trap during the reliability stress easily.     

Quasi-damascene metal gate/high-k CMOS using oxygenation through gate electrodes

We present a novel metal gate/high-k complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) integration scheme with symmetric and low threshold voltage (V_th) for both n-channel (nMOSFET) and p-channel (pMOSFET) metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors. The workfunction of pMOSFET is modulated by oxygen in-diffusion (‘oxygenation’) through the titanium nitride metal gate without equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) degradation. A significant V_th improvement by 420 mV and an aggressively scaled capacitance equivalent thickness under channel inversion (T_inv) of 1.3 nm is achieved for the pFET by using a replacement process in conjunction with optimized oxygenation process. Immunity of nMOSFET against oxygenation process is demonstrated.     

Electrical characterization and process control of cost-effective high-k aluminum oxide gate dielectrics prepared by anodization followed by furnace annealing

A cost-effective technique was introduced to prepare ultrathin aluminum oxide (Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/) gate dielectrics with equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) down to 14 /spl Aring/. Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ was fabricated by anodic oxidation (anodization) of ultrathin Al films at room temperature in deionized water and then furnace annealed at 650/spl deg/C in N/sub 2/ ambient. Both dc and dac (dc superimposed with ac) anodization techniques were investigated. Effective dielectric constant of k/spl sim/7.5 and leakage current of 2-3 orders of magnitude lower than SiO/sub 2/ are observed. The conduction mechanism in Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ gate stack is shown to be Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) tunneling. Saturated current behavior in the inversion region of MOS capacitor is observed. It is found that the saturation current is sensitive to interface state capacitance and can be used as an efficient way to evaluate the Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ gate stack/Si-substrate interfacial property. An optimal process control for preparing Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ gate dielectrics with minimized interface state capacitance via monitoring the inversion saturation current is demonstrated.     

Characterization of electrically active defects in high-k gate dielectrics by using low frequency noise and charge pumping measurements

The electrically active defects in high-k/SiO₂ dielectric stacks are examined using a combination of low frequency noise (LFN) and charge pumping (CP) methods. The volume trap profile in the stacks is obtained by modeling the drain current noise spectra and charge pumping currents, with each technique covering a different depth range. The LFN is dependent on both the high-k and interfacial (IL) SiO₂ thicknesses while the CP current is mainly dependent on the IL thickness.     

Recent advances and current challenges in the search for high mobility band-edge high-k/metal gate stacks

Continued miniaturization of the different physical elements of a Si MOSFET required in order to attain higher transistor performance and greater economies of scale have spurred the need for significant materials innovations. This is most apparent in the search for the ideal high-k/Metal Gate stack that would replace conventional SiON/Poly-Si gate stacks. In this paper, we will review some of the recent advances and remaining challenges for high-k/Metal Gate stacks. It is shown that significant progress has been made towards improving electron mobility in HfO₂/Metal Gate stacks by a combination of high temperature processes, nitrogen free interfaces and optimized metal deposition processes which result in mobility values competitive with SiON/Poly-Si. In addition by inserting nanoscale layers that comprise strongly electropositive gp. IIA and IIIB elements in between the HfO₂and metal electrode stack have resulted in high mobility, band-edge aggressively scaled High-k/Metal Gate stacks. While much progress has been made with nMOSFET stacks, it will also be shown that a number of roadblocks remain with obtaining a similar solution for pMOSFET stacks, primarily due to the presence of thermally activated oxygen vacancies that induce large negative threshold voltage shifts towards midgap in HfO₂/high workfunction metal stacks.     

Characterising gate dielectrics in high mobility devices using novel nanoscale techniques

Strained Si and strained SiGe layers can increase the speed of MOS devices through enhanced electron and hole mobilities compared with bulk Si. However, epitaxial growth of strained Si and SiGe layers induces surface roughness which impacts gate dielectric properties including leakage, breakdown and interface traps. Gate dielectric quality is conventionally studied at a macroscopic level on individual transistors or capacitors. To understand precisely the effect of roughness on the quality and reliability of dielectrics on high mobility substrate devices requires high spatial resolution characterisation techniques. Device processing modifies the dielectric/semiconductor interface compared with its initial form. Therefore nanoscale analysis on completed devices is necessary. In this work, we present new techniques to enable gate leakage analysis on a nanoscale in fully processed high mobility MOSFETs. This is achieved by careful selective removal of the gate from the dielectric followed by C-AFM measurements on the dielectric surface. Raman spectroscopy, AFM and SEM (EDX) confirmed complete layer removal. The techniques are applied to strained Si devices which have different surface morphologies and different macroscopic electrical data. Dielectric reliability is also assessed through device stressing.     

后栅工艺高k/金属栅结构NMOSFET偏压温度不稳定性特性研究

本文对后栅工艺高k/金属栅结构NMOSFET偏压温度不稳定性特性进行了研究。在加速应力电压和高温条件下,NMOSFET的阈值电压的退化与时间呈幂指数关系。然而幂指数随应力电压的增大而减小;在本文中,应力从0.6V到12V,幂指数则相应的由0.26减小到0.16。通过对应力前后器件的亚阈值特性分析,在应力过程中没有界面态产生。根据实验数据提取到数值为0.1eV的热激活能,表明偏压温度不稳定性是由栅介质中预先存在的陷阱俘获从衬底隧穿的电子造成的。恢复阶段的测试显示阈值电压的退化与对数时间呈线性关系,同时可以用确定的数学表达式来表明其与应力电压和温度之间的关系。     

A 2-D analytical threshold-voltage model for GeOI/GeON MOSFET with high-k gate dielectric

A 2-D analytical threshold-voltage model for ultra-thin-body MOSFET with buried insulator and high-k gate dielectric is established by solving the 2-D Poisson's equation for the gate-dielectric, channel and buried-insulator regions. The validity of the model is confirmed by comparing with experimental data and other models. Using the model, the influences of gate-dielectric permittivity, buried-insulator permittivity, channel thickness, buried-insulator thickness and channel doping concentration on threshold behaviors are investigated. It is found that the threshold behaviors can be improved by using buried insulator with low permittivity, thin channel and high channel doping concentration. However, the threshold performance would be degraded when high-k gate dielectric is used due to enhanced fringing-field effect.     

Top-TiN生长条件及TaN厚度对MOSCAP栅叠层有效功函数的影响

我们引入TaN/TiAl/top-TiN三层结构,通过变化TaN的厚度及top-TiN的生长条件来调节TiN-based金属栅叠层的有效功函数。实验结果显示：较薄的TaN和PVD-process生长的top-TiN组合可以得到较小的有效功函数(EWF),而较厚的TaN和ALD-process生长的top-TiN组合可以得到较大的有效功函数(EWF),文中EWF有从4.25eV to 4.56eV的变化。同时文中也给出了TaN厚度及top-TiN的生长条件调节有效功函数(EWF)的物理解释。与PVD-process在室温条件下生长TiN相比,ALD-process TiN是在400 ℃条件下生长的,400 ℃ ALD-process TiN 可以为整个工艺过程提供更多的热预算,从而促进更多的Al原子扩散进入top-TiN,导致扩散进入到bottom-TiN的Al原子数量减少。另外,厚的TaN也会阻止Al原子进入bottom-TiN。这些因素都减少了bottom-TiN中Al原子的数量,减弱了Al原子对有效功函数的调节作用,从而引起EWF的增加。     

Interfacial layer optimization of high-k/metal gate stacks for low temperature processing

Understanding the requirements for obtaining high mobility gate stacks in a low temperature process is crucial for enabling a low temperature integration flow. A low temperature integration scheme may be necessary for higher-k dielectrics (k > 25) or for extremely scaled devices (<15 nm node). This paper demonstrates that nitrogen free interfaces are required for high mobility gate stacks in a low temperature (600 °C) process flow.     

通过多次淀积多次退火与Ti吸氧技术相结合来改善后栅工艺中高k金属栅的性能

本文的原子层淀积（ALD） HfO2薄膜采用新颖的多次淀积多次退火（MDMA）技术进行制备,并在有Ti吸氧层和没有Ti吸氧层两种情况下分别进行性能研究。 与传统的一次淀积一次退火相比,采用多次淀积多次退火后的器件漏电明显减小,同时,等效氧化层厚度（EOT）也被Ti吸氧层有效控制。器件性能的提升与淀积和退火次数密切相关（在保持总介质层厚度相同的情况下）。透射电子显微镜（TEM）和能量色散X射线光谱（EDX）分析表明,氧同时注入高k（HK）薄膜和中间层（IL）很可能是导致器件性能提升的主要原因。因此在后栅工艺中MDMA技术是一种改善栅极特性的有效方法。     

Carrier separation analysis for clarifying carrier conduction and degradation mechanisms in high-k stack gate dielectrics

The carrier conduction and the degradation mechanism in n⁺gate p-channel metal-insulator-semiconductor field-effect-transistors with HfAlO_X (Hf: 60 at.%, Al: 40 at.%)/SiO₂ dielectric layers have been investigated using carrier separation method. Since gate current depends on substrate bias and both electron and hole currents are independent of temperature over the range of 25–150 °C, the conduction mechanism for both currents is controlled by a tunneling process. As the interfacial SiO₂ layer (IL) thickness increases in a fixed high-k layer thickness (T_high-k), a dominant carrier in the leakage current changes from hole to electron around 2.2-nm-thick IL. This is due to an asymmetric barrier height for electrons and holes at the SiO₂/Si interface. On the contrary, in the case of a fixed IL thickness of 1.3 nm, the hole current is dominant in the leakage current, regardless of T_high-k. It is shown that the dominant carrier in the leakage current depends on the structure of the high-k stack. Both electron and hole currents for the stress-induced-leakage-current (SILC) state increase slightly relative to the initial currents, which means that the trap generation in the high-k stack occurs near both the conduction band edge of n⁺poly-Si gate and the valence band edge of Si substrate. The electron current at soft breakdown (SBD) state dramatically increases over that for the SILC state, while the hole currents for both the SILC state and SBD are almost the same. This indicates that the defect sites generated in the high-k stack after SBD are located at energies near the conduction band edge of n⁺poly-Si gate. Both the defect generation rate and the defect size in the HfAlO_X/SiO₂ stacks are large compared with those in SiO₂. It is inferred that, in high-k dielectric stack, the defect generation mainly occurs in the high-k side rather than the IL side, and the defect size larger than the case of SiO₂ could be related to a larger dielectric constant of the high-k layer.     

Thermal annealing effect on electrical properties of metal nitride gate electrodes with hafnium oxide gate dielectrics in nano-metric MOS devices

Electrical properties of hafnium oxide (HfO₂) gate dielectric with various metal nitride gate electrodes, i.e., tantalum nitride (TaN), molybdenum nitride (MoN), and tungsten nitride (WN), were studied over a range of HfO₂ thicknesses, e.g., 2.5-10 nm, and post-metal annealing (PMA) temperatures, e.g., 600 °C to 800 °C. The work function of the nitride gate electrode was dependent on the material and the post-metal annealing (PMA) temperature. The scanning transmission electron microscopy technique is used to observe the effect of PMA on the interfacial gate dielectric thickness. After high-temperature annealing, the metal nitride gates were suitable for NMOS. At the same PMA temperature, the oxide-trapped charges increased and the interface state densities decreased with the increase of the HfO₂ thickness for TaN and WN gate electrodes. However, for MoN gate electrode the interface state density is almost independent of film thickness. Therefore, dielectric properties of the HfO₂ high-k film depend not only on the metal nitride gate electrode material but also the post-metal annealing condition as well as the film thickness. During constant voltage stress of the MOS capacitors, an increase in the time-dependent gate leakage current is also observed.     

Device to circuit reliability correlations for metal gate/high-k transistors in scaled CMOS technologies

Metal gate/high-k stacks are in CMOS manufacturing since the 45 nm technology node. To meet technology performance and yield targets, gate stack reliability is constantly being challenged. Assessing the associated reliability risk for CMOS products relies on a solid understanding of device to circuit reliability correlations. In this paper we summarize our findings on the correlation between device reliability and circuit degradation and highlight areas for future work to focus on.     

A quantum mechanical mobility model for scaled NMOS transistors with ultra-thin high-K dielectrics and metal gate electrodes

A quantum mechanical model of electron mobility for scaled NMOS transistors with ultra-thin SiO₂/HfO₂ dielectrics (effective oxide thickness is less than 1 nm) and metal gate electrode is presented in this paper. The inversion layer carrier density is calculated quantum mechanically due to the consideration of high transverse electric field created in the transistor channel. The mobility model includes: (1) Coulomb scattering effect arising from the scattering centers at the semiconductor–dielectric interface, fixed charges in the high-K film and bulk impurities, and (2) surface roughness effect associated with the semiconductor–dielectric interface. The model predicts the electron mobility in MOS transistors will increase with continuous dielectric layer scaling and a fixed volume trap density assumption in high-K film. The Coulomb scattering mobility dependence on the interface trap density, fixed charges in the high-K film, interfacial oxide layer thickness and high-K film thickness is demonstrated in the paper.     

铝栅化学机械平坦化中缺陷控制的研究

The replacement metal gate(RMG) defectivity performance control is very challenging in high-k metal gate(HKMG) chemical mechanical polishing(CMP). In this study, three major defect types, including fall-on particles, micro-scratch and corrosion have been investigated. The research studied the effects of polishing pad,pressure, rotating speed, flow rate and post-CMP cleaning on the three kinds of defect, which finally eliminated the defects and achieved good surface morphology. This study will provide an important reference value for the future research of aluminum metal gate CMP.     

Challenges and performance limitations of high-k and oxynitride gate dielectrics for 90/65 nm CMOS technology

For low power applications, the increase of gate leakage current, caused by direct tunneling in ultra-thin oxide films, is the crucial factor eliminating conventional SiO₂-based gate dielectrics in sub-90 nm CMOS technology development. Recently, promising performance has been demonstrated for poly-Si/high-k and poly-Si/SiON gate stacks in addressing gate leakage requirements for low power applications. However, the use of poly-Si gate electrodes on high-k created additional issues such as channel mobility and reliability degradations, as well as Fermi level pinning of the effective gate work function. Therefore, oxynitride gate dielectrics are being proposed as an intermediate solution toward the sub-65/45 nm nodes. Apparently, an enhanced SiON gate dielectric stack was developed and reported to achieve high dielectric constant and good interfacial properties. The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review some of the device performance and limitation that high-k and oxynitride as dielectric materials are facing for sub-65/45 nm node.     

A novel approach to characterization of progressive breakdown in high-k/metal gate stacks

Dielectric breakdown (BD) of nFETs with TiN metal gates and HfO₂/interfacial layer with 1.09 nm EOT is studied. Occurrence of progressive BD at low current levels is demonstrated. A new measurement methodology for extraction of the PBD time and its dependence on gate voltage are reported.     

Phosphorene field-effect transistors using high-k gate dielectrics of epitaxial SrTiO3 layers grown on Nb-doped SrTiO3 substrates

Epitaxial SrTiO₃ (STO) thin film as a gate dielectric layer was grown on single crystalline (100) Nb-doped SrTiO₃ substrate. On the 100-nm-thick STO gate dielectric layer, a 5-nm-thick phosphorene sheet channel layer was exfoliated from a bulk crystal. A phosphorene field-effect transistor (P-STO-FET) was prepared by the formation of 90-nm-thick Au source/drain (S/D) contacts. The P-STO-FET exhibited the transport characteristics of a p-type transistor with a mobility of approximately 376 cm⁻²/Vs and an on/off ratio of approximately 10³. Furthermore, it was experimentally confirmed that the mobility of the P-STO-FET was significantly influenced by the flatness of the phosphorene sheet.     

Carrier mobility in p-MOSFET with atomic-layer-deposited Si-nitride/SiO/sub 2/ stack gate dielectrics

P/sup +/-poly-Si gate MOS transistors with atomic-layer-deposited Si-nitride/SiO/sub 2/ stack gate dielectrics (EOT=2.50 nm) have been fabricated. Similar to the reference samples with SiO/sub 2/ gate dielectrics (T/sub ox/=2.45 nm), clear saturation characteristics of drain current are obtained for the samples with stack gate dielectrics. Identical hole-effective mobility is obtained for the samples with the SiO/sub 2/ and the stack gate dielectrics. The maximum value of hole-effective mobility is the same (54 cm/sup 2//Vs) both for the stack and the SiO/sub 2/ samples. Hot carrier-induced mobility degradation in transistors with the stack gate dielectrics was found to be identical to that in transistors with the SiO/sub 2/ gate dielectrics. In addition to the suppression of boron penetration, better TDDB characteristics, and soft breakdown free phenomena for the stack dielectrics (reported previously), the almost equal effective mobility (with respect to that of SiO/sub 2/ dielectrics) has ensured the proposed stack gate dielectrics to be very promising for sub-100-nm technology generations.