Negative-bias-temperature-instability (NBTI) for P{sup}+-gate pMOSFET with ultra-thin plasma-nitrided gate dielectrics

摘要

The time/field and temperature dependences of negative-bias-temperature-instability (NBTI) on 2.6 nm thick plasma-nitrided silicon dioxide films have been studied and compared to the conventional thermal nitridation. It is found that time/field dependence of NBTI is comparable for both decoupled plasma-nitrided oxides (DPNO) and rapid thermal nitrided oxides (RTNO). However, the activation energy of NBTI for DPNO is found to be higher than RTNO. Consequently, DPNO has significant longer NBTI lifetime than RTNO.