Gate stack reliability improvements using controlled ambient processing

This paper investigates the impact of ambient control in critical front-end processes. Gate-oxide reliability improvements and device implications for advanced sub-micron applications are described. Such processing limits exposure of wafers to clean-room air and promises reliability improvements, particularly where bare silicon or critical films are present on the wafer surface. Specifically, the benefits of environmental control between gate pre-clean and gate oxidation, gate oxidation and polysilicon deposition, and silicide deposition and annealing are presented.