Low-Temperature Growth of N-doped SiO2 Layer Using Inductively-Coupled Plasma Oxidation and Its Effect on the Characteristics of Thin Film Transistors

Abstract

Silicon dioxide as gate dielectrics was grown at <TEX>$400^{\circ}C$</TEX> on a polycrystalline Si substrate by inductively coupled plasma oxidation using a mixture of <TEX>$O_2$</TEX> and <TEX>$N_2O$</TEX> to improve the performance of polycrystalline Si thin film transistors. In conventional high-temperature <TEX>$N_2O$</TEX> annealing, nitrogen can be supplied to the <TEX>$Si/SiO_2$</TEX> interface because a NO molecule can diffuse through the oxide. However, it was found that nitrogen cannot be supplied to the Si/<TEX>$SiO_2$</TEX> interface by plasma oxidation as the <TEX>$N_2O$</TEX> molecule is broken in the plasma and because a dense Si-N bond is formed at the <TEX>$SiO_2$</TEX> surface, preventing further diffusion of nitrogen into the oxide. Nitrogen was added to the <TEX>$Si/SiO_2$</TEX> interface by the plasma oxidation of mixtures of <TEX>$O_2/N_2O$</TEX> gas, leading to an enhancement of the field effect mobility of polycrystalline Si TFTs due to the reduction in the number of trap densities at the interface and at the Si grain boundaries due to nitrogen passivation.