Effect of rapid thermal reoxidation on the electrical properties of rapid thermally nitrided thin-gate oxides

The authors report a systematic study of the impact of post-nitridation rapid thermal anneals in oxygen and nitrogen on the electrical properties of MOS devices with thin gate oxides. A comparative study of the two annealing ambients has led to the formulation of qualitative models to describe the charge trapping properties of the respective gate dielectrics. Roles of the post-nitridation anneals in altering the radiation and hot-electron sensitivity of the MOS devices are investigated and explained on the basis of structural changes in the gate oxides during nitridation and subsequent annealing. The performance and reliability of MOSFETs with reoxidized nitrided gate oxides are investigated. Overall, the results indicate that reoxidized nitrided oxides show improved charge trapping properties, better resistance to radiation and hot-carrier stress, and improved high-field electron mobility in MOSFETs