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Title: Trap state passivation improved hot-carrier instability by zirconium-doping in hafnium oxide in a nanoscale n-metal-oxide semiconductor-field effect transistors with high-k/metal gate

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4947439· OSTI ID:22591655
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  1. Department of Physics, National Sun Yat-sen University, 70 Lien-hai Road, Kaohsiung 80424, Taiwan (China)
  2. Department of Electronics Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan (China)
  3. Department of Photonics, National Sun Yat-Sen University, 70 Lien-hai Road, Kaohsiung 80424, Taiwan (China)
  4. Device Department, United Microelectronics Corporation, Tainan Science Park, Tainan 701, Taiwan (China)

This work investigates the effect on hot carrier degradation (HCD) of doping zirconium into the hafnium oxide high-k layer in the nanoscale high-k/metal gate n-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect-transistors. Previous n-metal-oxide semiconductor-field effect transistor studies demonstrated that zirconium-doped hafnium oxide reduces charge trapping and improves positive bias temperature instability. In this work, a clear reduction in HCD is observed with zirconium-doped hafnium oxide because channel hot electron (CHE) trapping in pre-existing high-k bulk defects is the main degradation mechanism. However, this reduced HCD became ineffective at ultra-low temperature, since CHE traps in the deeper bulk defects at ultra-low temperature, while zirconium-doping only passivates shallow bulk defects.

OSTI ID:
22591655
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 108, Issue 17; Other Information: (c) 2016 Author(s); Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English