Characterization of polysilicon oxides thermally grown and deposited on the polished polysilicon films

Abstract

This work examines the characteristics of polyoxides thermally grown and deposited on polished polysilicon films. A well-controlled chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process is also presented to achieve a planar surface morphology for polysilicon films. The thermally-grown and deposited polyoxides on the polished polysilicon films exhibit a lower leakage current, higher dielectric breakdown field, higher electron barrier height, lower electron trapping rate, lower density of trapped charges, and markedly higher charge to breakdown (Q/sub bd/) than the conventional polyoxide. In particular, the deposited polyoxide on the polished polysilicon film has the highest dielectric breakdown field, lowest electron trapping rate, and highest charge to breakdown due to the planar polyoxide/polysilicon interface. In addition, experimental results indicate that the trapped charges of the polished samples are located in the polyoxides' upper portion, which differs from conventional polyoxides. Undoubtedly, the deposited polyoxide on the polished polysilicon film considered herein is the most promising candidate to yield optimum characteristics of polyoxide.