Improved hot-carrier resistance with fluorinated gate oxides

Improved OFF-state hot-carrier resistance in n-channel MOSFETs observed for fluorinated gate oxides is discussed. One-micrometer fluorinated devices consistently showed approximately three times smaller transconductance reduction and threshold-voltage shift relative to the control (nonfluorinated) MOSFETs. The fluorine was incorporated into the gate oxide by low-energy ion implantation followed by a 920 degrees C diffusion. Subthreshold measurements taken before and after hot-electron stress explicitly show the reduction in interface state generation with fluorine incorporation.<
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