Effects of N{sub 2}, O{sub 2}, and Ar plasma treatments on the removal of crystallized HfO{sub 2} film
- Silicon Nano Device Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117576 (Singapore)
The effects of plasma treatment using Ar, N{sub 2}, and O{sub 2} on the removal of crystallized HfO{sub 2} films in a dilute HF solution were studied. The resulting damage in source and drain regions, and recess in isolation regions were also investigated. It was found that plasma nitridation with an ion energy of several hundred electron volts can lower the wet etch resistance of crystallized HfO{sub 2} films up to 70 A thick through the generation of Hf-N bonds. However, thermal nitridation did not introduce sufficient nitrogen into bulk crystallized HfO{sub 2} films to lower wet etch resistance. Plasma nitridation without bias power introduced nitrogen to the crystallized HfO{sub 2} in the region only within 10 A of the surface. The enhancement of the etch rate of crystallized HfO{sub 2} in dilute HF and the amount of recess in the active and isolation regions using N{sub 2}, O{sub 2}, and Ar plasma treatment have been evaluated. Results show that N{sub 2} plasma treatment is the most effective in enhancing the removal rate of crystallized HfO{sub 2} in dilute HF and minimizing recess on substrate among the plasmas studied.
- OSTI ID:
- 20776941
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology. A, International Journal Devoted to Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films, Vol. 24, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1116/1.2141619; (c) 2006 American Vacuum Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1553-1813
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Effects of in situ N{sub 2} plasma treatment on etch of HfO{sub 2} in inductively coupled Cl{sub 2}/N{sub 2} plasmas
Effects of N{sub 2} remote plasma nitridation on the structural and electrical characteristics of the HfO{sub 2} gate dielectrics grown using remote plasma atomic layer deposition methods