The effects of gamma irradiation on low-pressure chemical-vapor-deposited silicon dioxide metal-oxide-silicon structures

The effects of gamma irradiation on as-deposited, oxygen-annealed, and dual-dielectric gate (undoped polysilicon/oxide) low-pressure chemical-vapor-deposited (LPCVD) silicon dioxide (SiO₂) metal-oxide-silicon (MOS) structures were investigated. As-deposited LPCVD SiO₂ MOS structures exhibit the largest shift in flatband voltage with gamma irradiation. This is most likely due to the large number of bulk oxide traps resulting from the nonstochiometric nature of as-deposited LPCVD SiO₂. Dual-dielectric (undoped polysilicon/annealed LPCVD SiO₂) MOS structures exhibit the smallest shift in flatband voltage and increase in interface state density compared to as-deposited and oxygen-annealed LPCVD SiO₂ MOS structures. The interface state density of dual-dielectric MOS structures increases from 5 × 10¹⁰ eV cm⁻² to 2–3 × 10¹¹ eV cm⁻² after irradiation to a gamma total dose level of 1 Mrads(Si). This result suggests that the recombination of atomic hydrogen atoms with silicon dangling bonds, either along grain boundaries or in crystallites of the undoped polysilicon layer in dual-dielectric (undoped polysilicon/annealed LPCVD SiO₂) MOS structures, probably reduces the number of atomic hydrogen atoms reaching the Si/SiO₂ interface to generate interface states.     

Annealing of oxide fixed charges in scaled polysilicon gate MOS structures

Annealing of oxide fixed charges (QF) under polysilicon gate in scaled MOS structures was studied. Our results indicate that, even for a gate width as small as 1.25 µm, QFunderneath the polysilicon gate is unaffected by further processing steps, including high-temperature oxidizing ambients. In other words, the QFtriangle reduces to a horizontal line, even for scaled down polysilicon gate MOS devices. This result has important practical implications, because poly-Si gate is the dominating MOS technology today. A two-dimensional oxygen diffusion model is proposed to explain this phenomenon. Numerical solution was carried out based on the finite difference method. It will be shown that the polysilicon gate not only acts as a barrier to oxygen above the gate oxide, it also keeps oxygen away from the SiO_{2}- Si-substrate interface under the gate edges, thus very effectively shielding the gate oxide from the ambient.     

A study on the physical mechanism in the recovery of gatecapacitance to Cox in implanted polysilicon MOSstructures

The anomalous CV characteristics of MOS capacitor structures with implanted n⁺ polysilicon gate and p-type silicon substrate are studied through physical device simulation and experimental characterization over a wide range of frequencies and temperatures ranging from 100 to 250 K. It is shown that this anomalous CV behavior can be fully explained by the depletion of electrons and the formation of a hole inversion layer in the polysilicon gate due to energy band bending. The use of transistor structures for characterizing the polysilicon gate electrode is proposed. The results suggest thermal generation rather than impact ionization to be the dominant physical mechanism in supplying holes required by the inversion layer at the polysilicon-SiO₂ interface. This result also implies that hot-hole injection from the polysilicon gate into the SiO ₂ gate dielectric should not present a serious problem in device reliability     

Highly suppressed boron penetration in NO-nitrided SiO2for p+-polysilicon gated MOS device applications

In this paper, we demonstrate the superior diffusion barrier properties of NO-nitrided SiO₂ in suppressing boron penetration for p⁺-polysilicon gated MOS devices. Boron penetration effects have been studied in terms of flatband voltage shift, decrease in inversion capacitance (due to polysilicon depletion effect), impact on interface state density, and charge-to-breakdown. Results show that NO-nitrided SiO₂, as compared to conventional thermal SiO₂, exhibits much higher resistance to boron penetration, and therefore, is very attractive for surface channel PMOS technology     

Fermi-level pinning at the polysilicon/metal-oxide interface-Part II

We report here that Fermi pinning at the polysilicon/metal-oxide interface causes high threshold voltages in MOSFET devices. In Part I, we investigated the different gatestack regions and determined that the polysilicon/metal oxide interface plays a key role on the threshold voltages. Now in Part II, the effects of the interfacial bonding are examined by experiments with submonolayer atomic-layer deposition (ALD) metal oxides and atomistic simulation. Results indicate that pinning occurs due to the interfacial Si-Hf and Si-O-Al bonds for HfO/sub 2/ and Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/, respectively. Oxygen vacancies at polysilicon/HfO/sub 2/ interfaces also lead to Fermi pinning. This fundamental characteristic affects the observed polysilicon depletion.     

Performance of thin-film transistors on polysilicon films grown bylow-pressure chemical vapor deposition at various pressures

Defect properties of undoped low-pressure chemical-vapor-deposited (LPCVD) polysilicon films have been investigated by capacitance techniques on a simple metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitor structure. The results show that the effective density of bulk and interface trap states is almost independent of the deposition pressure. After reducing the polysilicon film thickness by etching, although the grain size decreases due to the columnar mode of growth at low pressures, the trap states density reduces significantly. This finding could be explained by the hypothesis that, during the growth of the material, impurities are segregated at the film surface by fast diffusion through the grain boundaries. The transport properties of 0.5-μm-thick polysilicon films deposited at a pressure ranging from 100 to 0.5 mtorr were evaluated from measurements on thin-film transistors (TFTs). The results demonstrate that at high pressures the grain boundaries and at low pressures the polysilicon-SiO₂ interface roughness scattering are the main factors in determining the transistor performance     

Impact of boron penetration at P+-poly/gate oxideinterface on deep-submicron device reliability for dual-gate CMOStechnologies

In this paper, we investigate the onset of boron penetration at the P⁺-poly/gate oxide interface. It is found that conventional detection methods such as shifts in flatband voltage or threshold voltage (V_t) and charge-to-breakdown (Q_BD) performance in accumulation mode failed to reveal boron species near this interface. On the contrary, under constant current stressing with inversion mode bias conditions, significantly lower Q_BD and large V_t shift have been observed due to boron penetration near the P⁺-poly/gate oxide interface. These results suggest that onset of boron penetration at the P⁺ -poly/gate oxide interface does not alter fresh device characteristics, but it induces severe reliability degradation for the gate oxide. Tradeoffs of boron penetration and poly depletion are also studied in this work with different combinations of polysilicon thickness, BF₂ implant energy and dose, and the post-implant RTA temperature     

Influence of defects in gate-oxide peripheral regions on the electrical characteristics of MOS structures

Radiation-induced defect formation is studied experimentally in the gate-insulator layer and at the semiconductor-insulator interface of NMOS and PMOS structures differing in perimeter-to-area ratio. The structures are fabricated by CMOS technology on the same n-Si wafer, the NMOS structures being formed in a p-well. Heavily phosphorus doped polysilicon and noncrystalline silicon dioxide are used as the gate and insulator materials, respectively. The devices considered are MOS varactors, MOS diodes, and MOSFETs. Capacitance-voltage characteristics are measured on the MOS varactors and diodes. The gate-voltage dependence is examined of surface conduction for the MOSFETs and the surface-recombination emitter-current component for the MOS diodes. The results are used to characterize defect formation in peripheral gate-oxide regions and the lightly doped part of the source (emitter) and the drain, as well as in the central gate-oxide region and at the Si/SiO₂ interface. The peripheral oxide regions are found to have a two-sided influence on the performance of the MOS structures. On the one hand, they act as a drain of uncombined hydrogen from the gate oxide, so that the effectiveness of defect deactivation by hydrogen depends on the perimeter-to-area ratio. On the other hand, the peripheral regions, particularly their corners, may have an elevated density of latent process-induced defects that can be activated by radiation, voltage, or thermal stress.     

A simple method for extracting average doping concentration in thepolysilicon and silicon surface layer near the oxide in polysilicon-gateMOS structures

The author demonstrates a simple technique that extracts average doping concentration in the polysilicon and silicon near the oxide in a metal/polysilicon/oxide/silicon system. The technique is based on the maximum-minimum capacitance method on two large area structures-one MOSFET and one MOSC (MOS capacitor). The technique is simple and reliable since only three data points in the C-V data are required-two points in MOSC C-V and one point in MOSFET C-V. The technique avoids inaccuracy caused by interface traps at the polysilicon/oxide and the oxide/silicon interface. The technique can be implemented into fab routine electric-test procedures for simultaneously monitoring change of doping concentration in polysilicon and silicon during process development     

Reexamination of the role of nitrogen in oxynitrides-fixed chargereduction in the p+-polysilicon gate MOS

The problems associated with the use of p⁺-polysilicon gate MOS have been intensively investigated. Although the utilization of oxynitrides has been considered to be effective for the suppression of the threshold voltage (V_T) deviation in the p⁺-polysilicon gate MOSFETs, the investigation revealed that the p⁺-polysilicon gate MOS exhibits significantly different properties when oxynitrides contain no nitrogen at the oxynitride/substrate interface (MOS interface) than it does with usual oxynitrides which contain nitrogen at the MOS interface. This discrepancy arises because, contrary to what is usually considered to be the case, boron diffused into the substrate is not the origin of the negative fixed charge generated in the p⁺-polysilicon gate MOS structures, which is one of the most important factors influencing VT in those structures. We have found fluorine in the p⁺-polysilicon gate MOS structures even when the polysilicon is doped using boron ion implantation. This is a consequence of the use of BF₃ as a boron source. We propose a model in which fluorine is responsible for the negative fixed charge generation and nitrogen at the MOS interface prevents not only the boron penetration but also the negative fixed charge generation by suppressing the fluorine incorporation into the MOS interface     

Characterization of polysilicon-gate depletion in MOS structures

This paper presents a new technique to characterize the depletion capacitance and (active) impurity concentration of gate polysilicon in MOS transistors. The method has been validated by means of 2-D simulation; experimental results obtained with state-of-the-art n-channel 0.5 micrometer transistors are presented     

Effect of dopant redistribution, segregation, and carrier trappingin As-implanted MOS gates

Anomalous capacitance-voltage behavior of arsenic-implanted polysilicon and amorphous Si gate MOS structures fabricated with and without a TiSi₂ layer is reported. The C-V characteristics and specifically the inversion and accumulation capacitances are gate-bias-dependent and are strongly affected by annealing temperature, silicidation, and polysilicon gate microstructure (i.e. polysilicon versus amorphous gate). The results can be explained by insufficient As redistribution, coupled with carrier trapping, and As segregation at polysilicon grain boundaries and in TiSi₂. All these effects lead to the formation of a depletion region in the polysilicon gate and thus to the anomalous C-V behavior     

Fermi-level pinning at the polysilicon/metal oxide interface-Part I

We report here that Fermi pinning at the polysilicon/metal oxide interface causes high threshold voltages in MOSFET devices. Results indicate that pinning occurs due to the interfacial Si-Hf and Si-O-Al bonds for HfO/sub 2/ and Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/, respectively. Oxygen vacancies at polysilicon/HfO/sub 2/ interfaces also lead to Fermi pinning. We show that this fundamental characteristic affects the observed polysilicon depletion. In Part I, the theoretical background is reviewed and the impact of the different gate stack regions are separated out by investigating the relative threshold voltage shifts of devices with Hf-based dielectrics. The effects of the interfacial bonding are examined in Part II.     

Polysilicon quantization effects on the electrical properties of MOS transistors

The quantum-mechanical behavior of charge carriers at the polysilicon/oxide interface is investigated. It is shown that a dark space depleted of free carriers is created at the interface as a consequence of the abrupt potential energy barrier, which dominates the polysilicon capacitance and voltage drop in all regions of operation of modern MOS devices. Quantum-mechanical effects in polysilicon lead to a reduction in the gate capacitance in the same way as substrate quantization, and to a negative voltage shift, which is opposed to the positive shift caused by carrier quantization in the channel. Effects on the extraction of device physical parameters such as oxide thickness and polysilicon doping are also addressed.     

Bias sweep rate effects on quasi-static capacitance of MOScapacitors

MOS capacitance measurements are very fundamental characterization methods for MOS and FET structures. This paper discusses the effects of a finite bias sweep rate on quasi-static and high-frequency (HF) capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements. As typically measured, a finite sweep rate causes the transition region from inversion to depletion of the quasistatic C-V curve to be shifted by several tenths of a volt along the bias voltage axis. The physical origin of this shift as well as a model to account for the effect is discussed. In order to understand quasi-static MOS C-V measurements and to extract fundamental parameters such as substrate doping density and polysilicon depletion effects from C-V measurements, these bias sweep rate effects must be understood and taken into account     

MOS C-V characterization of ultrathin gate oxide thickness (1.3-1.8nm)

An equivalent circuit approach to MOS capacitance-voltage (C-V) modeling of ultrathin gate oxides (1.3-1.8 nm) is proposed. Capacitance simulation including polysilicon depletion is based on quantum mechanical (QM) corrections implemented in a two-dimensional (2-D) device simulator; tunneling current is calculated using a one-dimensional (1-D) Green's function solver. The sharp decrease in capacitance observed for gate oxides below 2.0 nm in both accumulation and inversion is modeled using distributed voltage-controlled RC networks. The imaginary components of small-signal input admittance obtained from AC network analysis agree well with measured capacitance     

Advanced model and analysis of series resistance for CMOS scalinginto nanometer regime. I. Theoretical derivation

An advanced series resistance model is developed to accurately predict source/drain (S/D) series resistance of complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) in the nanometer regime. The series resistance is modeled by division into four resistance components named SDE-to-gate overlap, S/D extension, deep S/D, and silicide-diffusion contact resistance, considering the nonnegligible doping-dependent potential relationship in MOS accumulation region due to scaled supply voltage, current behavior related to heavily doped ultra-shallow source/drain extension (SDE) junction, polysilicon gate depletion effects (PDE), lateral and vertical doping gradient effect of SDE junction, silicide-diffusion contact structure, and high-κ dielectric sidewall. The proposed model well characterizes unique features of nanometer-scale CMOS and is useful for analyzing the effect of source/drain parameters on CMOS device scaling and optimization     

Observation of high interface state densities at the silicon/oxide interface for low doped polysilicon/oxide/silicon capacitor structures

In this work, we present new observations noted in the capacitance–voltage behaviour of polysilicon/oxide/silicon capacitor structures. As the active doping concentration reduces in the polysilicon layer, an anomalous capacitance–voltage behaviour is measured which is not related directly to depletion into the polysilicon gate. From examination of the frequency dependence of the capacitance–voltage characteristic, in conjunction with analysis and simulation, the anomalous capacitance–voltage behaviour is explained by the presence of a high density of near-monoenergetic interface states located at the silicon/oxide surface. The density and energy level of the interface states are determined. Furthermore, the work presents a mechanism by which the polysilicon doping level can impact on the properties of the silicon/oxide interface.     

A review of gate tunneling current in MOS devices

Gate current in metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) devices, caused by carriers tunneling through a classically forbidden energy barrier, is studied in this paper. The physical mechanisms of tunneling in an MOS structure are reviewed, along with the particularities of tunneling in modern MOS transistors, including effects such as direct tunneling, polysilicon depletion, hole tunneling and valence band tunneling and gate current partitioning. The modeling approach to gate current used in several compact MOS models is presented and compared. Also, some of the effects of this gate current in the performance of digital, analog and RF circuits is discussed, and it is shown how new effects and considerations will come into play when designing circuits that use MOSFETs with ultra-thin oxides.