Title :
Breakdown in the metal/high-k gate stack: Identifying the “weak link” in the multilayer dielectric
Author :
Bersuker, G. ; Heh, D. ; Young, C. ; Park, H. ; Khanal, P. ; Larcher, L. ; Padovani, A. ; Lenahan, P. ; Ryan, J. ; Lee, B.H. ; Tseng, H. ; Jammy, R.
Author_Institution :
SEMATECH, Austin, TX
Abstract :
We apply a systematic approach to identify a high-k/metal gate stack degradation mechanism. Our results demonstrate that the SiO2 interfacial layer controls the overall degradation and breakdown of the high-k gate stacks stressed in inversion. Defects contributing to the gate stack degradation are associated with the high-k/metal-induced oxygen vacancies in the interfacial layer.
Keywords :
electric breakdown; hafnium compounds; metal-insulator boundaries; multilayers; silicon compounds; titanium compounds; vacancies (crystal); HfO2-TiN-SiO2; breakdown; degradation mechanism; interfacial layer; metal/high-k gate stack; multilayer dielectric; oxygen vacancies; weak link; Degradation; Dielectric breakdown; Dielectric substrates; Electrodes; Frequency; High K dielectric materials; High-K gate dielectrics; Nonhomogeneous media; Stress; Voltage;
Conference_Titel :
Electron Devices Meeting, 2008. IEDM 2008. IEEE International
Conference_Location :
San Francisco, CA
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-2377-4
Electronic_ISBN :
8164-2284
DOI :
10.1109/IEDM.2008.4796816
