Rapid Thermal Post-Metallization Annealing Effect on the Reliability of Thin Gate Oxides
Date Issued
1994
Date
1994
Author(s)
Abstract
Rapid thermal technique was used in the post-metallization annealing (PMA) of thin gate oxide devices. A suitable choice of the rise rate, the setting temperature, and the hold time in the rapid thermal PMA (RTPMA) process is helpful to improve the oxide quality. It was found that the samples subjected to appropriate RTPMA conditions exhibit almost the same initial characteristic in flatband voltage Vfb and midgap interface trap density Atm as those subjected to conventional furnace PMA (FPMA). However, the RTPMA samples exhibit longer time-to- breakdown £bd and higher time-zero-dielectric-breakdown (TZDB) field Ebd than the FPMA ones. In addition to the known spiking effect caused by aluminum penetration into silicon, which seriously degrades the breakdown property, formation of aluminum oxide near the AI/S1O2 interface in the early stage and then aluminum silicon alloy in the later stage was proposed to explain the experimental observation. © 1995 The Japan Society of Applied Physics.
Subjects
Breakdown characteristics; Metal-oxide-semiconductor; Postmetallization annealing; Rapid thermal; Thin gate oxides
Other Subjects
Aluminum alloys; Aluminum compounds; Annealing; Electric breakdown; Electric conductivity; Electric fields; Interfaces (materials); Oxides; Silicon wafers; Flatband voltage; Midgap interface trap density; Postmetallization annealing; Rapid thermal annealing; Thin gate oxides; MOS devices
Type
journal article