Effects of hydrogen in passivation PECVD nitride film on DRAM refresh performance

It was found that passivation nitride significantly affects DRAM refresh performance. To determine the factors in the nitride film that contributed to improved refresh performance, several analyses, such as Fourier-transform infrared spectrum (FTIR), thermal desorption spectrum (TDS), and x-ray photon spectroscopy (XPS), were performed on plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) nitride film. The data revealed that the film with high Si-H bond in PECVD nitride film release more hydrogen in subsequent thermal process, in turn, to improved refresh performance.