Electrical and chemical characteristics of metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) prepared by low-thermal-budget (∼600 °C) NH3 post-deposition annealing of HfSiON gate dielectric have been investigated. Compared to control Hf-silicate, HfSiON showed excellent thickness scalability, low leakage current density (J), and superior thermal stability. With proper annealing-time optimization, effective oxide thickness as low as 9.2 Å with J<100 mA/cm2 at gate voltage Vg=−1.5 V has been achieved. C–V hysteresis of HfSiON MOSFET was found to be small (<20 mV). Unlike NH3 surface nitridation (NH3 pre-treatment prior to Hf-silicate deposition), no degradation in Gm (transconductance), Id–Vg (drain current–gate voltage), or Id–Vd (drain current–drain voltage) characteristics has been observed.

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HfOz with EOT of 14A shows soft and hard breakdown behaviors which consist of different Weibull distributions, area scaling factors, and acceleration factors. Thickness dependence of Hf02 Weibull slope p indicates that the breakdown mechanism of Hf02 is intrinsic. Similar to SiOz, steeper voltage acceleration factor of HfO2 has been observed as thickness decreases. Unipolar AC voltage stress on MOS capacitors results in larger lifetime compared to constant voltage stress. This may be due to lower overall charge trapping as a result of short "on time" compared to the transition time and charge detrapping during the off period. The higher the frequency of the AC stress, the longer time-tobreakdown.

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