Compositional and electrical properties of SiO2/Si3N4/SiO2 stacked films grown onto silicon substrates and annealed in hydrogen

Santucci, S.; Alfonsetti, R.; Giacomo, Antonio Di; Fiorani, P; Lozzi, L.; Moccia, G.; Ottaviano, L.; Passacantando, M.; Picozzi, P.

doi:10.1016/s0022-3093(97)00209-3

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Few systematic studies that analyze the effect of processing conditions on these parameters in stacked ONO structures have been reported. [3][4][5][6] Some of these studies observed ONO stacks to consist of well-defined layers of SiO 2 and Si 3 N 4 3,4 with no significant nitrogen content in the oxide layers. Other studies 5,6 revealed considerable concentration of nitrogen in the top oxide layer of the ONO stacks, as well as the segregation of nitrogen to the bottom SiO 2 /Si interface.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Structure, Chemistry, and Electrical Performance of Silicon Oxide-Nitride-Oxide Stacks on Silicon

Levin

Kovler

Roizin

et al. 2004

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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The structure and chemistry of silicon oxide-nitride-oxide ͑ONO͒ stacks on silicon with differently processed top oxide layers were analyzed using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy, secondary ion mass spectroscopy, and X-ray specular reflectometry. The changes observed in the structure and chemistry of the ONO stacks were correlated with the electrical performance of these stacks in flash-memory devices. The results demonstrated that using larger thermal budgets to form the top oxide layer yields ͑i͒ broader N distribution across the nitride/oxide interfaces, (ii) reduced H content at the Si/SiO 2 interfaces, (iii) increased density of the top oxide layer, and ultimately, (iv) improved electrical performance of ONO-based memory devices.Silicon oxide-nitride-oxide amorphous multilayers ͑ONO stacks͒ attract considerable interest as the charge-storage media in nonvolatile memory devices. 1,2 Ultrathin ONO stacks are commonly prepared by thermal growth of a SiO 2 layer ͑bottom oxide͒ on silicon, followed by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition ͑LPCVD͒ of Si 3 N 4 . Subsequently, the top oxide is either grown by the nitride reoxidation or deposited by LPCVD. The typical thickness of individual layers in the ONO stacks ranges from 5 to 15 nm. The critical structural and compositional parameters that affect electrical performance of the ONO-based devices include the physical density of the amorphous oxide/nitride layers and the depth distributions of the oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen atoms. Few systematic studies that analyze the effect of processing conditions on these parameters in stacked ONO structures have been reported. 3-6 Some of these studies observed ONO stacks to consist of well-defined layers of SiO 2 and Si 3 N 4 3,4 with no significant nitrogen content in the oxide layers. Other studies 5,6 revealed considerable concentration of nitrogen in the top oxide layer of the ONO stacks, as well as the segregation of nitrogen to the bottom SiO 2 /Si interface. Reports of artifacts associated with nitrogen segregation to the SiO 2 /Si interface during spectroscopic measurements 7,8 added to the confusion in the interpretation of the existing data. The optimal ͑from the electrical performance point of view͒ nitrogen profile in the bottom oxide of ONO stacks remains a subject of debate. 9,10 At present, incomplete understanding of the processing-structure/chemistry-properties relations impedes rational optimization of the processing parameters for the ONO stacks. The present work is aimed at a systematic study of these relations in the ONO stacks for flash-memory applications. We applied both spatially resolved electron energy loss spectroscopy ͑EELS͒ in a transmission electron microscope ͑TEM͒ and secondary ion mass spectroscopy ͑SIMS͒ to analyze elemental distributions in the differently processed ONO stacks, while the densities of individual layers in these stacks were determined using X-ray specular reflectometry ͑XRR͒. The results of structural/compositional an...

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Structure, Chemistry, and Electrical Performance of Silicon Oxide-Nitride-Oxide Stacks on Silicon

Levin

Kovler

Roizin

et al. 2004

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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“…Several spectroscopic tools, including secondary ion mass spectroscopy ͑SIMS͒, 3 x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, 3 medium energy ion scattering, 4 as well as electron energy loss spectroscopy ͑EELS͒, 5,6 have been used to characterize elemental distributions in the ONO structures. Among these techniques, spatially resolved EELS in transmission electron microscopy ͑TEM͒ offers a unique combination of very high spatial resolution, high sensitivity to both oxygen and nitrogen, and ability to provide information on chemical bonding.…”

Section: Radiation-induced Nitrogen Segregation During Electron Energmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiation-induced nitrogen segregation during electron energy loss spectroscopy of silicon oxide–nitride-oxide stacks

Levin

Leapman

Kovler

et al. 2003

Applied Physics Letters

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X-ray reflectivity studies of very thin films of silicon oxide and silicon oxide–silicon nitride stacked structures

Santucci

Cecilia

Digiacomo

et al. 2001

Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids

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Compositional and electrical properties of SiO2/Si3N4/SiO2 stacked films grown onto silicon substrates and annealed in hydrogen

Cited by 5 publications

References 16 publications

Structure, Chemistry, and Electrical Performance of Silicon Oxide-Nitride-Oxide Stacks on Silicon

Structure, Chemistry, and Electrical Performance of Silicon Oxide-Nitride-Oxide Stacks on Silicon

Radiation-induced nitrogen segregation during electron energy loss spectroscopy of silicon oxide–nitride-oxide stacks

X-ray reflectivity studies of very thin films of silicon oxide and silicon oxide–silicon nitride stacked structures

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