Systematic Study of Process Impact on FinFET Reliability

Reliability of Core and IO FinFET is extensively investigated with various process steps at Fin, Source/ Drain, sacrificial Gate-Metal, and High-Pressure D2 Anneal. By modulating the process knobs, we quantified the effect of oxide traps (at bulk or interface) on reliability mechanisms of replacement metal gate (RMG). The results are summarized as a process-reliability optimization guideline.