Comparison of Plasma-Induced Damage in SIO2/TIN and HFO2/TIN Gate Stacks

Abstract

SiO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> and HfO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> > gate dielectrics with TiN electrodes were subjected to an aggressive post-fabrication plasma exposure. A comparison of plate and comb antenna structures before and after exposure demonstrated that the plate antennae structures demonstrate evidence of plasma-induced damage while the comb structures did not. The physical origin of PD in SiO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> devices was found to be the amphoteric interface states, while the primary effect in HfO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> devices was charges trapped in the bulk of the high-K film.