Effect of fluorinated silicate glass passivation layer on electrical characteristics and dielectric reliabilities for the HfO2/SiON gate stacked nMOSFET

The superior characteristics of the fluorinated hafnium oxide/oxynitride (HfO2/SiON) gate dielectric are investigated comprehensively. Fluorine is incorporated into the gate dielectric through fluorinated silicate glass (FSG) passivation layer to form fluorinated HfO2/SiON dielectric. Fluorine incorporation has been proven to eliminate both bulk and interface trap densities due to Hf–F and Si–F bonds formation, which can strongly reduce trap generation as well as trap-assisted tunneling during subsequently constant voltage stress, and results in improved electrical characteristics and dielectric reliabilities. The results clearly indicate that the fluorinated HfO2/SiON gate dielectric using FSG passivation layer becomes a feasible technology for future ultrathin gate dielectrics applications.