Dynamical observation of H-induced gate dielectric degradation through improved nuclear reaction analysis system

Abstract

The Nuclear Reaction Analysis (NRA) system was successfully improved in terms of the control of dynamic hydrogen migration and reducing background noise. The proposed new system achieved nondestructive measurements of the hydrogen depth profile with a detection limit of less than 3×1019 atom/cm3. Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) and NRA with this system were compared in the analysis of the hydrogen depth profile in gate dielectric for the first time and superiority of NRA was demonstrated. In addition, we successfully demonstrated that dynamic hydrogen migration in gate dielectric is strongly correlated with generation of both bulk defects and interface defects of gate dielectrics.