Nitrogen-related enhanced reliability degradation in nMOSFETs with 1.6 nm gate dielectric

Although nitrogen incorporation into ultra-thin gate dielectrics could reduce gate leakage current effectively, in this study we found that nitrogen-induced paramagnetic electron trap precursors will enhance hot-electron-induced degradation in deep sub-micron nMOSFETs. These nitrogen-related electron traps induced by hot electron injection could eventually become a severe long-term reliability concern for sub-100 mn technology.