Low-temperature atomic and molecular hydrogen anneals for enhanced chemical $\mathbf{SiO}_{2}$ IL quality in low thermal budget RMG stacks

We demonstrate (a combination of) atomic and molecular hydrogen exposures of the SiO2 interfacial layer (IL) at low temperature (T, 100-450°C) for excellent pMOS NBTI reliability, outperforming conventional Replacement Gate (RMG) solutions based on high-T (~900°C) 'reliability anneals(. We elucidate the implications of oxide defect passivation by hydrogen on the permittivity of the chemical oxide (chemOx) IL and on its effectiveness as a tunneling barrier. For multi
$-\boldsymbol{V}_{th}$
solutions, we combine the low-T IL treatments with different Work Function Metal (WFM) stacks, and we demonstrate the hydrogen passivation is sufficiently thermally stable to withstand Back-End-Of-Line (BEOL) processing. Finally, we demonstrate this low-T RMG solution on a bulk planar transistor vehicle, highlighting the benefits on carrier mobility, NBTI, and dielectric breakdown.