Application of high pressure deuterium annealing for improving the hot carrier reliability of CMOS transistors

We present the effect of high pressure deuterium annealing on hot carrier reliability improvements of CMOS transistors. High pressure annealing increases the rate of deuterium incorporation at the SiO/sub 2//Si interface. We have achieved a significant lifetime improvement (90/spl times/) from fully processed wafers (four metal layers) with nitride sidewall spacers and SiON cap layers. The improvement was determined by comparing to wafers that were annealed in a conventional hydrogen forming gas anneal. The annealing time to achieve the same level of improvement is also significantly reduced. The increased incorporation of D at high pressure was confirmed by the secondary ion mass spectrometry characterization.