Deposited oxides for high integrity applications

Abstract

Summary form only given. This study shows that the oxides deposited using tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) have electrical characteristics comparable to those of thermally grown oxides, and that TEOS-grown oxides have a lower defect density than thermal oxides grown under similar particle generating conditions. The breakdown data of TEOS films deposited at various temperatures are equivalent to those of thermal oxides of the same thickness provided that films undergo a densification step. The median breakdown field at 9 MV/cm is close to that of 9.5 MV/cm for the thermally grown control samples. Time-dependent breakdown data show TEOS deposited oxides have an order of magnitude longer lifetime than thermally grown oxides, indicating that improved reliability can be expected using a TEOS oxide.<>