Characterization and evaluation of ALD-HfO2 using H2O and D2O as an oxidant

Oxide degradation and breakdown have received increasing attention since they cause failure in advanced ULSI devices and, therefore, may impede the down scaling trend of oxide thickness and MOSFET size (Han et al., 1997). The electrical and reliability characteristics of the dielectric are sensitive to the concentration of hydrogen-related species in the bulk oxide and interface (Cohen and Gorczyca, 1998). Recently, improvements in the reliability of deuterium annealed MOS capacitor have been reported (Jung et al., 2000). In this research, we focused on the investigation of the degradation and t_BD characteristics of HfO₂ prepared by ALD with different oxidants (H₂O and D₂O) under electrical stress.