The reliability and performance of submicron LDD NMOSFET\´s with retrograde Arsenic impurity profiles in the n
-region were investigated. These structures were compared to devices with conventional As drains and phosphorus-implanted (P
+) LDD\´s. Reduced substrate current was expected from 2D simulation and was confirmed experimentally. Lifetime under DC stress was improved by a factor of 15 over that observed for LDD devices. Transconductance was 93% of a conventional NMOSFET and 5% greater than a LDD FET having a P
+implant of

cm
-2, CMOS ring oscillator stage delay was equal to or better than the delay for LDD and conventional NMOSFET\´s and depicted a tradeoff between g
mand gate-drain overlap capacitance C
dg. Short channel effects were evaluated for L
effdown to 0.45 µm and found to be similar to standard LDD designs.