Abstract
An alternative to SiO2 for gate dielectric applications in MIS devices is nitrided silicon dioxide. A study of this material is presented in this paper. Thin SiO2 layers (10 nm minimum thickness) were grown on silicon substrates and subsequently nitrided in ammonia at 1 atm using a rapid thermal processing system. Nitridation times ranged from 3 sec to 60 sec at temperatures from 900 to 1200‡ C. The resulting films were then characterized using a variety of techniques including high resolution TEM, XPS, AES, SIMS, and electrical measurements (C-V). Higher temperatures and longer processing times resulted in the accumulation of nitrogen at the film surface and at the Si/SiO2 interface. As expected, the electrical characteristics of the nitrided films were strongly influenced by the processing conditions. The morphology of the interface, as revealed by high-resolution TEM, was also altered by the nitridation process, especially for high processing temperatures (>1000° C).
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 99-104 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Journal of Electronic Materials |
Volume | 18 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 1 1989 |
Keywords
- Nitridation
- SiO
- dielectric applications
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering
- Materials Chemistry