Application of anodization to reoxidize silicon nitride film
Journal
Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, Part 1: Regular Papers and Short Notes and Review Papers
Journal Volume
40
Journal Issue
12
Pages
6788-6791
Date Issued
2001
Author(s)
Lin, Y.-P.
Abstract
Anodic reoxidation of ultrathin Si3N4 film in deionized (DI) water followed by rapid thermal annealing (RTA) in N2 (ANO) was for the first time studied in this work. The Si3N4 film directly reoxidized in O2 by RTA (O2RTA) was used for comparison. It was found that the reoxidation process could significantly improve the characteristics of chemical-vapor-deposited (CVD) Si3N4 in terms of both the interface and bulk qualities. The ANO samples show lower leakage current, lower interface trap an bulk trap densities, and higher breakdown field than O2RTA of the same equivalent oxide thickness (EOT). The better electrical characteristics of ANO are due to more oxygen atoms incorporated into the Si3N4 films during the anodic reoxidation.
Subjects
Anodic reoxidation; Anodization; Nitride; XPS
Type
journal article