Hot-carrier-resistant structure by Re-oxidized nitrided oxide sidewall for highly reliable and high performance LDD MOSFETs

The authors have proposed a novel structure which satisfies both high performance and high reliability with re-oxidized nitrided oxide (RNO) film in the sidewall of the LDD (lightly doped drain) transistor using rapid thermal nitridation (RTN). With this structure, the hot-carrier resistance of the LDD can be improved without the degradation of mobility as seen in MOSFETs having the RNO film as a gate insulator. Hot-carrier resistance against drain avalanche hot carrier injection is improved without degrading the resistance against channel-hot-electron injection or the mobility. Moreover, the authors have studied the nature of the RNO films in contrast to oxide films from the viewpoint of hot-carrier resistance.<>