Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-jr42d Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T10:25:18.940Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Breakdown Characteristics of Ultra-Thin Gate Oxides Caused by Plasma Charging

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

Chi-Chun Chen ,
Horng-Chih Lin ,
Chun-Yen Chang ,
Chao-Hsin Chien  and
Tiao-Yuan Huang
Chi-Chun Chen
Affiliation:
Institute of Electronics, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
Horng-Chih Lin
Affiliation:
National Nano Device Laboratories, Hsinchu, Taiwan Email: u8511531@cc.nctu.edu.tw
Chun-Yen Chang
Affiliation:
Institute of Electronics, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
Chao-Hsin Chien
Affiliation:
Institute of Electronics, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
Tiao-Yuan Huang
Affiliation:
Institute of Electronics, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan National Nano Device Laboratories, Hsinchu, Taiwan Email: u8511531@cc.nctu.edu.tw
Get access

Abstract

Breakdown characteristics of ultra-thin gate oxides caused by plasma charging were studied in this work. It is observed that as oxide thickness is scaled down to 4 nm, some traditional monitor parameters may lose their sensitivity for detecting oxide degradation induced by plasma charging damage, due to insignificant trap generation. Even the gate leakage current, although sensitive for 4 nm oxide, may no longer be sensitive enough for even thinner oxide (e.g., 2.6 nm), due to the existence of large tunneling current. Moreover, several soft-breakdown events were found to occur in ultrathin oxide before the final onset of a catastrophic hard-breakdown. Finally, an equivalent local oxide thickness is calculated using local oxide thinning model to estimate the stepwise increase of gate current after soft-breakdown event.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 567: Symposium R – Ultrathin SiO2 and Higg-K Materials for ULSI Gate Dielectrics , 1999 , 313
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1999

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1 Lee, S. H., Cho, B. J., Kim, J. C., and Choi, S. H., “Quasi-breakdown of ultrathin gate oxide under high field stress”, in Int. Electron Devices Meet. Tech. Dig. (IEEE, San Francisco, 1994), pp.605–608.Google Scholar
2 Miranda, E., Sune, J., Rodriguez, R., Nafria, M. and Aymerich, X., “Switching behavior of the soft breakdown conduction characteristics in ultra-thin (<5 nm) oxide MOS capacitors”, in Proc. 36th Intl. Reliab. Phys. Symp. IRPS98, pp.42, 1998.10.1109/RELPHY.1998.670440Google Scholar
3 Yoshida, T., Miyazaki, S. and Hirose, M., “Analytical Modeling of Quasi-Breakdown of Ultrathin Gate Oxides under Constant Current Stressing”, in Extended Abstract of Solid State Device and Materials (SSDM), 1996, pp.539–541.10.7567/SSDM.1996.B-5-6Google Scholar
4 Cheung, K., Liu, C. T., Chang, C., Colonell, J., Lai, W., Liu, R., Miner, J., Pai, C. S., Vaidya, H., Clemens, J., and Hasegawa, E., “Field dependent critical trap density for thin gate oxide breakdown,” in Int. Reliability Phys. Symp., 1999, pp.52–56.Google Scholar
5 Weir, B. E., Silverman, P. J., Monroe, D., Krisch, K. S., Alam, M. A., Alers, G. B., Sorsch, T. W., Timp, G. L., Baumann, F., Liu, C. T., Ma, Y., and Huang, D., “Ultra-thin gate dielectrics: they breakdown, but do they fail?” in Int. Electron Devices Meet. Tech. Dig. (IEEE, Washington D.C., 1997), pp.73–76.10.1109/IEDM.1997.649463Google Scholar
6 Lin, H. C., Wang, M. F., Chen, C. C., Hsien, S. K., Chien, C. H., Huang, T. Y., Chang, C. Y, and Chao, T. S., “Characterization of Plasma Charging Damage in Ultrathin Gate Oxides”, in Proc. 36th Intl. Reliab. Phys. Symp. IRPS98, pp.312, 1998.10.1109/RELPHY.1998.670662Google Scholar
7 Chien, C. H., Chang, C. Y, Lin, H. C., Chang, T. F., Chiou, S. G., Chen, L. P. and Huang, T. Y., “Resist-related damage on ultra-thin gate oxide during ashing,” IEEE Electron Device Lett., vol. 18, p. 33, 1997.10.1109/55.553034Google Scholar
8 Lin, H. C., Chen, C. C., Wang, M. F., Chien, C. H., Hsien, S. K., Chao, T. S., Huang, T. Y and Chang, C. Y, “Evaluation of plasma charging damage in ultrathin gate oxides,” IEEE Electron Device Lett., vol. 19, p. 68, 1998.Google Scholar
9 Cheung, K. P., “An efficient Method For Plasma-Charging Damage Measurement,” IEEE Electron Device. Lett. vol. 15, No. 11, p.460, 1994.10.1109/55.334667Google Scholar
10 Lin, H. C., Chien, C. H. and Huang, T. Y., “Characterization of antenna effect by nondestructive gate current measurement,” Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., vol. 35, p. L1044, 1996.10.1143/JJAP.35.L1044Google Scholar
11 Kim, S. U., “Analysis of thin gate oxide degradation during fabrication of advanced CMOS ULSI circuits,” IEEE Trans. Electron Device. vol. 45, No. 3, p.731, 1998.10.1109/16.661235Google Scholar