1. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 Reliability Degradation Characteristics of Ultra-thin Gate Dielectrics for Nano-CMOS Application J.F. Kang Institute of Microelectronics Peking University Beijing 100871, China

2. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 N. Sa, B.G. Yan, H. Yang, J.F. Yang, Z.L. Xia (IME, PKU) X.Y. Liu, R.Q. Han, Y.Y. Wang (IME, PKU) D.-L. Kwong (ECE, UT Austin) H.Y. Yu (IMEC) C. Ren, M-F. Li, D.S.H. Chan (SNDL, NUS) Acknowledgment: C. C. Liao, Z. H. Gan, M. Liao, J. P. Wang, and W. Wong (SMIC)

3. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 Introduction Reliability characteristics of ultra thin gate dielectrics HfO 2 gate stack High temperature annealing effect TDDB, PBTI, and NBTI SiON in pMOS Dynamic NBTI S/D bias effect on NBTI Summary Outline

4. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 Introduction Leading-edge production technology of CMOS has scaled down to sub 90nm nodes. SiON gate dielectrics are used in 90nm and 65nm nodes technology. High-K/metal gate stacks will be required in sub 45nm nodes technology.

5. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 Introduction (SiON) NBTI in p-MOS is a critical reliability issue for CMOS with SiON gate dielectric NBTI is in general attributed to reaction- diffusion (R-D) model involving interfacial bond breaking followed by a diffusion process of hydrogen species (S. Mahapatra et al, IEDM2004, p.105)

6. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 R-D model (S. Mahapatra et al, IEDM2004, p.105; S. Ogawa and N. Shiono, PRB 51, 4218, 1995)

7. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 Introduction (SiON) Mechanisms of NBTI under various operation modes is not clear Release of hydrogen from Si-H bonds followed by the lateral motion of protons along the interface (X.J. Zhou et al, APL 84, p.4394, 2004) Re-passivation effect of interface trap during the post stress phase (T. Yang et al, EDL 26, p.758, 2005) Hot carrier effect on NBTI (D. Saha et al, EDL 27, p.188, 2006) Hole energy effect on NBTI due to broken Si-H and Si-O bonds (D. Varghese et al, EDL 26, p.527, 2005) ……

8. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 Introduction (SiON) The characteristics of NBTI under various operation modes need to be identified Dynamic NBTI has been demonstrated the significant difference with static NBTI (G. Chen et al, IRPS 2003, p.196; M. Ershov et al, APL 83, p.1647, 2003) There is few report on NBTI characteristics in S/D bias mode (N.K. Jha et al, IPRS 2005, p.524) We will address the S/D bias effect on NBTI

9. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 Introduction (HfO 2 gate stack) Severe reliability problems exist in high K/metal gate stacks due to high pre-existing charge trapping in the stacks ( A. Shanware et al, IRPS 2003; C. Shen et al, IEDM 2004 ) High temperature RTA ( >900 o C) is effective to reduce the preexisting charge trapping in high K gate stack (G.D. Wilk VLSI 2002 However, high temperature RTA usually causes significant EOT increase (C.S. Kang, VLSI 2002 )

10. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 We have demonstrated the HfN/HfO 2 gate stack is robust thermally stable (H. Yu et al, IEDM03) EOT increase is negligible after a high temperature annealing on the stack (PGA) We could expect the excellent reliability and sub-1 nm EOT to be achieved simultaneously Introduction (HfO 2 gate stack)

11. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 In this talk, I will address : HfO 2 gate stack High temperature annealing effect on EOT and reliability Intrinsic characteristics of TDDB, PBTI, and NBTI in HfN/HfO 2 gate stack fabricated by high temperature process SiON DNBT characteristics and nitrogen effect S/D bias effect on NBTI

12. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 High K gate stack devices were fabricated by using a high temperature process (a gate first process ): DHF-last pre-gate cleaning process Deposition of HfO 2 gate dielectrics using a MOCVD cluster tool (deposited at 400 o C followed by a 700 o C PDA in N 2 for 1 min) Deposition of TaN/HfN metal gate stack by PVD Gate patterning by using RIE (Followed by S/D implantations for MOSFET devices) RTA in N 2 at 950 o C or 1000 o C for 30s Experiments (HfO 2 gate stack)

13. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 P+ poly-Si MOSFETs were fabricated using a 90nm CMOS technology. SiON gate dielectrics: RTO+ Plasma Nitridation+PDA Static and Dynamic stresses were performed @ RT and 125 o C S/D bias=0 Various S/D biases Experiment (SiON)

14. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 Introduction Reliability characteristics of ultra thin gate dielectrics HfO 2 gate stack High temperature annealing effect TDDB, PBTI, and NBTI SiON in pMOS Dynamic NBTI S/D bias effect on NBTI Summary Outline

15. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 High temperature annealing effect High temperature process causes the significant reduction of bulk charge trapping in HfN/HfO 2 gate stack (J.F. Kang et al, ESL 8 : G311-G313 2005) After a high temperature (>900 o C) process : Hysteresis- Significant reduction Extra inversion capacitance- Disappearance

16. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 Scalability of HfN/HfO 2 gate stack (MOSC) (J.F. Kang et al, ESL 8 ; H. Yu et al, IEDM03) 0.75 nm EOT (W/ SN) and 0.91 nm EOT (W/O SN) were achieved in MOSC undergoing a 1000 o C PGA process High temperature annealing effect

17. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 Scalability of HfN/HfO 2 gate stack (MOSC) HfN HfO 2 ~2.2nm IL~0.7 nm FGA 1000 o C RTA IL~0.9 nm HfO 2 ~2.0nm HfN The robust thermal stability could be attributed to barrier effect of HfN layer against oxygen diffusion into HfO 2 /Si interface, which effectively suppresses the growth of IL during high temperature RTA FGA 1000 o C RTA High temperature annealing effect

18. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 0.95 nm EOT and low gate leakage (9.7X10 -5 A/cm 2 @V FB +1V and 1.3X10 -3 A/cm 2 @V FB -1V ) are achieved in HfN/HfO 2 gated nMOSFET Scalability of HfN/HfO 2 gate stack (MOSFET) (J.F. Kang et al, EDL 26,2005;) IL ~0.8 nm High temperature annealing effect

19. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 Well-behaved device performances are achieved in the 0.95 nm EOT nMOSFET (J.F. Kang et al, EDL 26, p.237, 2005) High temperature annealing effect

20. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 Reliability of HfN/HfO 2 gate stack TDDB Polarity dependent TDDB had been reported in devices with high-k dielectrics (*,**,***) Two mechanisms were proposed for TDDB Interfacial layer initiated breakdown Bulk layer initiated breakdown E-field dependent TDDB will be shown *R. Degraeve, et all; IRPS 2003. ** Wei Yip Loh, et all; IEDM 2003. *** Y. H. Kim, et all; Device Research Conference, 2003.

21. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 Reliability of HfN/HfO 2 gate stack Intrinsic TDDB characteristics (J.F. Kang et al, submitted to T-ED) Nearly constant slopes for different areas are the indication of the intrinsic TDDB (A. S. Oates, IEDM, p.923, 2003 ) Observed TDDB in the HfO 2 gate stack fabricated by a high temperature process is intrinsic

22. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 Reliability of HfN/HfO 2 gate stack E-field dependent TDDB (J.F. Kang et al, submitted to T-ED) Under low E-fields, constant weibull slope indicates IL initiated breakdown Under high electric field, the E-field dependent weibull slope indicates bulk initiated breakdown

23. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 Reliability of HfN/HfO 2 gate stack E-field dependent TDDB (J.F. Kang et al, submitted to T-ED) Under high E-fields, hole trapping behavior was observed Under low E-fields, electron trapping behavior was observed

24. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 Reliability of HfN/HfO 2 gate stack E-field dependent TDDB (J.F. Kang et al, submitted to T-ED) High energetic holes or electrons trapping dominate the dielectric breakdown (K. Torii et al, in IEDM p.129-132, 2004 ) Under a high CVS, hole trapping in HfO 2 bulk is dominant Under a low CVS, electron trapping in IL layer is dominant due to the higher E-field in IL layer based on Gauss law ε IL E IL =ε Bulk E Bulk

25. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 Reliability of HfN/HfO 2 gate stack BTI (J.F. Kang et al, submitted to T-ED) Under positive stressing, negligible V t shifts were observed both in nMOS and pMOS

26. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 Reliability of HfN/HfO 2 gate stack BTI (J.F. Kang et al, submitted to T-ED) Under negative stressing, significant V t shifts were observed both in nMOS and pMOS devices

27. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 V t shifts is bias polarity dependent for nMOSFET Reliability of HfN/HfO 2 gate stack BTI (J.F. Kang et al, submitted to T-ED)

28. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 V t shifts is bias polarity dependent for pMOSFET Reliability of HfN/HfO 2 gate stack BTI (J.F. Kang et al, submitted to T-ED)

29. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 DCIV indicates increasing interfacial traps under NBT; Increasing hysteresis indicates the generation of new bulk traps during NBT stressing Reliability of HfN/HfO 2 gate stack NBTI in pMOS

30. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 NBTI well fitted by R-D model was observed (S. Zafar et al, VLSI04 p.208) Intrinsic NBTI similar to SiO 2 -devices could be attributed to the breaking of Si-H bonds followed by the H species diffusion Reliability of HfN/HfO 2 gate stack NBTI in p-MOS

31. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 At room temperature, a turn-around phenomenon was observed. (left) Negative V t shifts was observed and shows strong dependence on temperature and electrical field. (right) Reliability of HfN/HfO 2 gate stack PBTI in n-MOS (N. Sa et al, EDL 26, p.610, 2005 )

32. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 The increased S with stressing time indicates the increased interfacial trap density PBTI fitted by R-D model was observed and the slop was ~0.6 corresponding to the process of the charged species diffusion Reliability of HfN/HfO 2 gate stack PBTI in n-MOS (N. Sa et al, EDL 26, p.610, 2005 )

33. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 Intrinsic PBTI fitted by R-D model is observed PBTI can be explained by the breaking mechanism of Si-O bonds in IL induced by the injected electrons Reliability of HfN/HfO 2 gate stack PBTI in n-MOS (N. Sa et al, EDL 26, p.610, 2005 )

34. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 The breaking mechanism of Si-O bonds induced by the injected electrons was confirmed by the measurement on activation energy Reliability of HfN/HfO 2 gate stack PBTI in n-MOS (N. Sa et al, EDL 26, p.610, 2005 )

35. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 Introduction Reliability characteristics of ultra thin gate dielectrics HfO 2 gate stack High temperature annealing effect TDDB, PBTI, and NBTI SiON in pMOS Dynamic NBTI S/D bias effect on NBTI Summary Outline

36. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 Frequency dependent NBTI @ AC stressing Reliability of SiON gate dielectric DNBTI characteristics

37. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 Frequency dependent NBTI is related to the generation of interface traps Reliability of SiON gate dielectric DNBTI characteristics

38. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 Process of N it generation and passivation associated with Si-H bonds meets the R-D model in DC and AC modes Reliability of SiON gate dielectric DNBTI characteristics

39. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 Origin of frequency dependent DNBTI could be attributed to the nitrogen trapping effect on diffused H species The trapped H species will not be responsible for the re-passivation of Si-H bonds during recover phase Reliability of SiON gate dielectric DNBTI characteristics

40. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 Reliability of SiON gate dielectric S/D bias effect on NBTI In low V ds region, NBTI is consistent with one predicted by R-D model (S. Mahapatra et al, EDL 51, p.1371, 2004) Anomalous E-field dependent NBTI was observed in high V ds region More severe NBTI with S/D bias was observed in the short channel devices

41. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 Reliability of SiON gate dielectric S/D bias effect on NBTI Time evolution of V th obeys a power law depicted by generalized reaction-diffusion (R-D) model The mechanism involving the release of hydrogen from Si-H bonds followed by H species diffusion is responsible for the NBTI » We guess that the energetic holes are responsible for the anomalous E-field dependence of NBTI

42. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 S/D bias causes the formation of energetic holes in the channel inversion layer; Energetic holes are captured by Si-H bonds causing weakened Si-H bond; Additional energies of the captured holes causes Si-H bond breaking Mechanism of S/D bias enhanced NBTI

43. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 Summary (1) High temperature process could effectively reduce the pre-existing charge trapping in HfO 2 gate stacks For HfN/HfO 2 gate stack, sub-1 nm EOT could be achieved even after a high temperature process

44. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 Summary (2) Intrinsic characteristics of TDDB, NBTI and PBTI could be observed in the HfN/HfO 2 with low pre-existing charge trapping The combination of high temperature process and HfN/HfO 2 gate stack is a potential solution for the application in sub-45 nm nodes technology

45. Institute of Microelectronics, PKU SINANO Workshop, Montreux, Switzerland Sept. 12~16, 2006 Summary (3) Nitrogen trapping effect on the diffused H species is critical for DNBTI S/D bias effect on NBTI is significant, especially in the short channel devices New models on reliability evaluation, including nitrogen effect and S/D bias effect, is required