Effect of final annealing on hot-electron-induced MOSFET degradation

The effect of the post metallization final annealing step on hot-electron-induced device degradation in MOSFET's with various drain/source structures has been studied. It is shown that the hydrogen ambient during the final annealing enhances the hot-electron-induced degradation rate. By performing the final annealing in the nitrogen ambient, the device reliability can be significantly improved without sacrificing any of the device performances.