Detection of magnetically induced plasma charging from passivation level processing using corona-oxide-semiconductor techniques

During the initial processing of a new technology, data became available showing gate oxide time dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) shifts due to charge generation from passivation (CAPS) level plasma processing. This paper presents the detection and characterization of various charge parameters from plasma processed silicon nitride CAPS using noncontact corona-oxide-semiconductor (COS) charge measurement techniques. The charge signature noted in the antenna data was reproduced using COS techniques on blanket oxide/nitride films. This investigation shows not only that COS techniques can detect magnetically induced plasma damage, but that COS measurements can be used to reduce charging through designed experiments