A novel surface passivation process for HfO/sub 2/ Ge MOSFETs

This work presents a novel surface passivation process for HfO/sub 2/ Ge MOSFETs which we have developed, using in-situ SiH/sub 4/ treatment prior to HfO/sub 2/ deposition. Results show that, compared to conventional surface nitridation, TaN/HfO/sub 2//Ge pMOSFETs with in-situ SiH/sub 4/ surface treatment have much reduced frequency dispersion and hysteresis, improved gate leakage distribution, better subthreshold swing and higher hole mobility.