Investigation of PDA Process to Improve Electrical Characteristics of HfO{sub}xN{sub}y High-k Dielectric Formed by ECR Plasma Oxidation of HfN

摘要

In this paper, post deposition annealing (PDA) processes such as Si wafer covering rapid thermal annealing (SWC-RTA) and rapid cooling process were investigated to improve electrical characteristics of HfO{sub}xN{sub}y films formed by ECR Ar/O{sub}2 plasma oxidation of ultra-thin HfN films. An EOT of 0.96nm with leakage current density of 0.26A/cm{sup}2 was obtained by utilizing SWC-RTA and rapid cooling. The obtained result shows the smallest equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) for the HfO{sub}xN{sub}y film formed by ECR plasma process so far.