Low-temperature formation of highly reliable silicon-nitride gate dielectrics with suppressed soft-breakdown phenomena for advanced complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor technology

Nakajima, Akira; Khosru, Quazi D. M.; Yoshimoto, Takashi; Kidera, Toshirou; Yokoyama, Shiyoshi

doi:10.1116/1.1491550

Cited by 11 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…As summarized in our review paper published recently, the silicon precursors investigated for the ALD SiN x process include chlorosilanes (e.g., SiCl 4 , SiH 2 Cl 2 , SiH 3 Cl, Si 2 Cl 6 , and Si 3 Cl 8 ), ,,− aminosilanes (e.g., 3DMAS, BTBAS, and DSBAS), ,,− silane (SiH 4 ), , neopentasilane, and trisilylamine (TSA). ,− A high-quality SiN x with an excellent wet etch resistance can be obtained using an N 2 plasma-based ALD process (e.g., DSBAS and N 2 plasma) . Unfortunately, in high-aspect-ratio structures, obtaining a high conformality (e.g., ≥95%) that is comparable to a thermal ALD process or an NH 3 plasma-based ALD process remains a big challenge for an N 2 plasma-based ALD process.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hollow Cathode Plasma-Enhanced Atomic Layer Deposition of Silicon Nitride Using Pentachlorodisilane

Meng

Kim

Lucero

et al. 2018

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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In this work, a novel chlorodisilane precursor, pentachlorodisilane (PCDS, HSiCl), was investigated for the growth of silicon nitride (SiN ) via hollow cathode plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD). A well-defined self-limiting growth behavior was successfully demonstrated over the growth temperature range of 270-360 °C. At identical process conditions, PCDS not only demonstrated approximately>20% higher growth per cycle than that of a commercially available chlorodisilane precursor, hexachlorodisilane (SiCl), but also delivered a better or at least comparable film quality determined by characterizing the refractive index, wet etch rate, and density of the films. The composition of the SiN films grown at 360 °C using PCDS, as determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, showed low O content (∼2 at. %) and Cl content (<1 at. %; below the detection limit). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectra suggested that N-H bonds were the dominant hydrogen-containing bonds in the SiN films without a significant amount of Si-H bonds originating from the precursor molecules. The possible surface reaction pathways of the PEALD SiN using PCDS on the surface terminated with amine groups (-NH and -NH-) are proposed. The PEALD SiN films grown using PCDS also exhibited a leakage current density as low as 1-2 nA/cm at 2 MV/cm and a breakdown electric field as high as ∼12 MV/cm.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hollow Cathode Plasma-Enhanced Atomic Layer Deposition of Silicon Nitride Using Pentachlorodisilane

Meng

Kim

Lucero

et al. 2018

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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“…Thermal ALD relies on the heating of the deposition chamber and the substrate to drive the surface reaction kinetics; therefore, higher deposition temperature (typically above 450 • C) is required. In the majority of the related works, chlorosilanes as siliconcontaining precursors and ammonia as a nitrogen source are applied [94][95][96][97][98][99]. Additionally, Morishita et al [100] revealed that SiNx can be also deposited by thermal ALD from Si 2 Cl 6 between temperatures of 525 and 650 • C. It should be also noted that we are not aware of any thermal ALD SiNx which was produced from non-chlorosilane-based precursors.…”

Section: Thermal Aldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Silicon Nitride and Hydrogenated Silicon Nitride Thin Films: A Review of Fabrication Methods and Applications

Hegedűs

Balázsi

2021

Materials

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Silicon nitride (SiNx) and hydrogenated silicon nitride (SiNx:H) thin films enjoy widespread scientific interest across multiple application fields. Exceptional combination of optical, mechanical, and thermal properties allows for their utilization in several industries, from solar and semiconductor to coated glass production. The wide bandgap (~5.2 eV) of thin films allows for its optoelectronic application, while the SiNx layers could act as passivation antireflective layers or as a host matrix for silicon nano-inclusions (Si-ni) for solar cell devices. In addition, high water-impermeability of SiNx makes it a potential candidate for barrier layers of organic light emission diodes (OLEDs). This work presents a review of the state-of-the-art process techniques and applications of SiNx and SiNx:H thin films. We focus on the trends and latest achievements of various deposition processes of recent years. Historically, different kinds of chemical vapor deposition (CVD), such as plasma enhanced (PE-CVD) or hot wire (HW-CVD), as well as electron cyclotron resonance (ECR), are the most common deposition methods, while physical vapor deposition (PVD), which is primarily sputtering, is also widely used. Besides these fabrication methods, atomic layer deposition (ALD) is an emerging technology due to the fact that it is able to control the deposition at the atomic level and provide extremely thin SiNx layers. The application of these three deposition methods is compared, while special attention is paid to the effect of the fabrication method on the properties of SiNx thin films, particularly the optical, mechanical, and thermal properties.

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“…Nakajima et al demonstrated that using ALD SiN x as the gate dielectric material could significantly suppress boron penetration and improve reliability [20,21,22,23,24,25,26]. Hong et al reported a SiN x (ALD)/SiO 2 /SiN x (ALD) sandwich-structure as a tunneling gate dielectric for flash memory application [79,80].…”

Section: Current Research Progressmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…NH 3 is considered a good alternative reactant, and has eventually become the most widely used reactant for SiN x thermal ALD. As shown in Table 1 , several chlorosilane precursors including SiCl 4 , SiH 2 Cl 2 , Si 2 Cl 6 and Si 3 Cl 8 have been extensively investigated for SiN x thermal ALD [ 17 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ]. It is also particularly important to point out the fact that SiN x thermal ALD using non-chlorosilane-based precursors has not yet been reported.…”

Section: Current Research Progressmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Prior to the prevalence of high-k materials as the gate dielectric, SiN x had been considered an attractive candidate to replace SiO 2 because of its higher dielectric constant and ability to suppress boron penetration through gate dielectrics [ 22 ]. Nakajima et al demonstrated that using ALD SiN x as the gate dielectric material could significantly suppress boron penetration and improve reliability [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ]. Hong et al reported a SiN x (ALD)/SiO 2 /SiN x (ALD) sandwich-structure as a tunneling gate dielectric for flash memory application [ 79 , 80 ].…”

Section: Current Research Progressmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Atomic Layer Deposition of Silicon Nitride Thin Films: A Review of Recent Progress, Challenges, and Outlooks

et al. 2016

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With the continued miniaturization of devices in the semiconductor industry, atomic layer deposition (ALD) of silicon nitride thin films (SiNx) has attracted great interest due to the inherent benefits of this process compared to other silicon nitride thin film deposition techniques. These benefits include not only high conformality and atomic-scale thickness control, but also low deposition temperatures. Over the past 20 years, recognition of the remarkable features of SiNx ALD, reinforced by experimental and theoretical investigations of the underlying surface reaction mechanism, has contributed to the development and widespread use of ALD SiNx thin films in both laboratory studies and industrial applications. Such recognition has spurred ever-increasing opportunities for the applications of the SiNx ALD technique in various arenas. Nevertheless, this technique still faces a number of challenges, which should be addressed through a collaborative effort between academia and industry. It is expected that the SiNx ALD will be further perceived as an indispensable technique for scaling next-generation ultra-large-scale integration (ULSI) technology. In this review, the authors examine the current research progress, challenges and future prospects of the SiNx ALD technique.

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Low-temperature formation of highly reliable silicon-nitride gate dielectrics with suppressed soft-breakdown phenomena for advanced complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor technology

Cited by 11 publications

References 20 publications

Hollow Cathode Plasma-Enhanced Atomic Layer Deposition of Silicon Nitride Using Pentachlorodisilane

Hollow Cathode Plasma-Enhanced Atomic Layer Deposition of Silicon Nitride Using Pentachlorodisilane

Silicon Nitride and Hydrogenated Silicon Nitride Thin Films: A Review of Fabrication Methods and Applications

Atomic Layer Deposition of Silicon Nitride Thin Films: A Review of Recent Progress, Challenges, and Outlooks

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