Negative bias temperature instability of p-channel transistors with diamond-like carbon liner having ultra-high compressive stress

The negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) characteristics of p-channel field-effect transistors with diamond-like carbon (DLC) liner stressor having ultra-high compressive stress (>5 GPa) are investigated for the first time. Ultra-Fast Measurement (UFM) was employed for NBTI study. Power law slopes ranging from ~0.057 to ~0.070 are reported in this work. P-FETs with higher channel strain show greater threshold voltage shift (DeltaV_th) than those with lower or no channel strain under the same gate voltage V_GS stress condition. DeltaV_th recovery-behavior of highly strained devices suggests that both charge trapping and interface trap degradation are enhanced by strain. Despite this, strained p-FETs with recessed SiGe S/D and DLC stressors are projected to have a NBTI lifetime exceeding 10 years at V_G = -1 V, showing no severe reliability issues.