Title :
Detection of Electron Trap Generation due to Constant Voltage Stress on High-κ Gate Stacks
Author :
Young, C.D. ; Nadkarni, S. ; Heh, D. ; Harris, H.R. ; Choi, R. ; Peterson, J.J. ; Sim, J.H. ; Krishnan, S.A. ; Barnett, J. ; Vogel, E. ; Lee, B.H. ; Zeitzoff, P. ; Brown, G.A. ; Bersuker, G.
Author_Institution :
SEMATECH, Austin, TX
Abstract :
Positive constant voltage stress combined with charge pumping (CP) measurements was applied to study trap generation phenomena in SiO2 /HfO2/TiN stacks. Using the analysis for frequency-dependent CP data developed to address depth profiling of the electron traps, we have determined that the voltage stress-induced generation of the defects contributing to threshold voltage instability in high-k gate stacks occurs primarily within the interfacial SiO2 layer (IL) on the as-grown "precursor" defects most likely caused by the overlaying HfO2 layer. These results point to the IL as a major focus for reliability improvement of high-k stacks
Keywords :
electron traps; hafnium compounds; high-k dielectric thin films; interface states; semiconductor device breakdown; semiconductor device reliability; silicon compounds; stress effects; titanium compounds; SiO2-HfO2-TiN; charge pumping measurements; electron trap generation; high-k gate stacks reliability; interfacial layer; positive constant voltage stress; threshold voltage instability; Charge measurement; Charge pumps; Current measurement; Electron traps; Hafnium oxide; High K dielectric materials; High-K gate dielectrics; Stress measurement; Threshold voltage; Tin; charge pumping; high-κ; trap generation; trapped charge;
Conference_Titel :
Reliability Physics Symposium Proceedings, 2006. 44th Annual., IEEE International
Conference_Location :
San Jose, CA
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-9498-4
Electronic_ISBN :
0-7803-9499-2
DOI :
10.1109/RELPHY.2006.251211
