Positive Bias Instability and Recovery in InGaAs Channel nMOSFETs

Instability of InGaAs channel nMOSFETs with the Al₂O₃/ ZrO₂ gate stack under positive bias stress demonstrates recoverable and unrecoverable components, which can be tentatively assigned to the pre-existing and generated defects, respectively. The recoverable component is determined to be primarily associated with the defects in the Al₂O₃ interfacial layer (IL), the slow trapping at which is responsible for the power law time dependency of the threshold voltage shift and transconductance change. The fast electron trapping in the ZrO₂ film exhibits negligible recovery, in contrast to the Si-based devices with a similar high-k dielectric film. Generation of new electron trapping defects is found to occur in the IL, preferentially in the region close to the substrate, while trap generation in the high-k dielectric is negligible.