Impact of the Nitrogen Concentration of sub-1.3 nm gate Oxides on 65 nm Technology Transistor Parameters

Abstract

The nitrogen concentration of ultrathin gate oxides (sub-1.3 nm) was varied in a wide range (from 13 % to 23 %). The threshold voltage and the channel carrier mobility of advanced 65 nm technology CMOSFET transistors fabricated with these oxides were analyzed. It was observed that increasing the nitrogen concentration in the gate oxide results in a negative shift of the threshold voltage for both NMOS and PMOS devices and a degradation of the hole mobility. It was also observed that p-channel transistors are more sensitive to the nitrogen concentration of the gate oxide than n-channel transistors.