Incorporation of nitrogen atoms into gate dielectrics: i) reduces defect generation at the Si-SiO_2 interface when incorporated at monolayer levels; ii) permits use of physically-thicker oxide-equivalent gate thicknesses when incorporated in the body of the dielectric; and iii) reduces boron penetration from p+ poly-silicon gate electrodes through the dielectric films when incorporated at the poly-Si-dielectric interface, or in the body of the dielectric. This paper demonstrates that nitrogen atoms can be selectively incorporated into these different parts of device-quality gate dielectrics by low-thermal budget remote plasma assisted processing followed by rapid thermal annealing.
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