The effects of thermal nitridation conditions on the reliability of thin nitrided oxide films

MIS capacitors on n-type silicon substrate with thin oxide films thermally nitrided in NH
3
gas ambient at different temperatures and for different times have been fabricated. The effects of nitridation temperature and time on the properties of the thin nitrided oxide films have been examined and analyzed by using a constant current stress. It is found that the oxide films nitrided at 900°C exhibit much improved total charge to breakdown and interface trap generation if proper nitridation time is used. The superior characteristics of the fabricated nitrided oxide films using the proposed optimum conditions are suitable for existing CMOS/VLSI applications.