Improvement in electrical characteristics of ultrathin thermally grown SiO2 by selective anodic oxidation

The presence of weak spots and pinholes in ultrathin gate oxides significantly increases the leakage current, thereby degrading the device performance. This paper proposes a method, which identifies the weak spots in thermally grown gate oxide and repairs them by selective anodization. By controlling the applied voltage, it is ensured that current flows only through the weak spots in the oxide during anodization. Anodic oxide therefore grows over these weak spots, improving the reliability of the oxide without increasing the gate oxide thickness. Significant improvement in electrical characteristics was observed in the gate oxides treated by anodic oxidation.