Importance of Si-N atomic configuration at the Si/oxynitride interfaces on the performance of scaled MOSFETs

This paper reports the studies on the inversion-layer mobility in n-MOSFETs having N/sub 2/O- and NO-based oxynitrided gate oxides. Different behavior on the effective normal field (E/sub eff/) dependence have been found between N/sub 2/Oand NO-based oxynitrided samples. It has been found that the positioning of O-Si-N bonds slightly inner from the interface leads to higher Id in NO-samples than N/sub 2/O-samples. This improvement of Id takes place through two mechanisms. One is less surface roughness scattering due to smoother interface and the other is less Coulomb scattering probability due to remote interaction with inversion carriers.