Title :
A High-Stress Liner Comprising Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) for Strained p-Channel MOSFET
Author :
Tan, Kian-Ming ; Zhu, Ming ; Fang, Wei-Wei ; Yang, Mingchu ; Liow, Tsung-Yang ; Lee, Rinus T P ; Hoe, Keat Mun ; Tung, Chih-Hang ; Balasubramanian, Narayanan ; Samudra, Ganesh S. ; Yeo, Yee-Chia
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Nat. Univ. of Singapore, Singapore
Abstract :
We report the integration of a new liner stressor comprising diamond-like carbon (DLC) film over a p-channel transistor. A high compressive stress of 6.5 GPa was achieved in a high-stress film with a thickness of 27 nm. A 74% enhancement in drive current was observed for the strained device with DLC liner as compared to a control device without DLC liner. Due to its much higher intrinsic stress value compared to conventional SiN films, a thinner DLC layer can induce comparable amount of stress in the transistor channel compared to a thicker SiN. The DLC material is a potential next-generation high-stress and low-permittivity liner stressor material suitable for application in transistors with aggressively scaled pitch dimensions.
Keywords :
CMOS integrated circuits; MOSFET; diamond-like carbon; elemental semiconductors; etching; semiconductor thin films; stress effects; stress-strain relations; C; CMOS devices; compressive stress; contact etch-stop layer; diamond-like carbon film; drive current enhancement; film thickness; high-stress film; liner stressor material; p-channel transistor; pressure 6.5 GPa; size 27 nm; strained p-channel MOSFET; CMOS process; Capacitive sensors; Compressive stress; Diamond-like carbon; Electrodes; Etching; MOSFET circuits; Silicon compounds; Strain control; Transistors; Contact etch stop layer (CESL); diamond-like carbon (DLC); enhancement; pitch; strain; stress;
Journal_Title :
Electron Device Letters, IEEE
DOI :
10.1109/LED.2007.914103
