Effects of La2O3 incorporation in HfO2 gated nMOSFETs on low-frequency noise

The effect of La2O3 incorporation on the spatial trap distribution in HfO2 gate dielectrics is investigated. The incorporation of La2O3 in HfO2 dielectric has been found to improve the effective mobility in addition to reduced interface-state density. The trap distribution analysis in the HfO2 layer extracted by combining the charge pumping (CP) method and the low-frequency noise (LFN) method has revealed significant reduction in the amount of traps at HfO2/SiO2-interlayer interface and in the HfO2 layer by La2O3 incorporation.