Electrical properties of nitrided-oxide systems for use in gate dielectrics and EEPROM

The electrical properties of nitrided oxide systems as a function of process conditions were examined. In terms of electron trapping, the observed results can be explained by the existence of two different traps: intrinsic and high field generated traps. The densities of these traps are determined by the nitridation condition and subsequent heat cycles. The lowest density of electron traps was observed in an annealed nitrided oxide (NO). The results also have implications for radiation damage and hot electron channel degradation in thin gate dielectrics. Under very high electric fields, destructive breakdowns were observed for nitrided oxide, probably due to the absence of electron traps. Such breakdowns restrict the design of EEPROM´s using such dielectrics.