Ultra-thin gate oxide through post decoupled plasma nitridation anneal
US7176094B2 · kind B2 · utility
9Cited by
11References
15Claims
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Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 6, 2002 |
| Grant date | Feb 13, 2007 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 25, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01L21/0217
- WIPO fieldSemiconductors
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
DPN (decoupled plasma nitridation) is used to improve robustness of ultra thin gate oxides. Conventionally, this is followed by an anneal in pure helium to remove structural defects in the oxide. However, annealing under these conditions has been found to cause a deterioration of the electrical performance of devices. This problem has been overcome by annealing, in a 1:4 oxygen-nitrogen mixture (1,050° C. at about 10 torr) instead of in helium or nitrogen oxide. This results in a gate oxide that is resistant to boron contamination without suffering any loss in its electrical properties.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.