Electricial properties of oxynitride films prepared by furnace oxidation in $N_2O$

$N_2O$ 가스에서 형성된 oxynitride막의 전기적 특성

In this paper, MOS characteristics of gate dielectrics prepared by furnace oxidation of Si in an $N_2O$ ambient have been studied. Compared with the oxides grown in $O_2$, $N_2O$ oxides show significantly improved breakdown field and low flat band voltage. Also, $N_2O$ oxide is more controllable for ultrathin film growth than $O_2$ oxide. This improvement is caused by nitrogen incorporation into the $N_2O$ oxide. Therefore, the nitrogen-rich-layer at the Si/$SiO_2$ interface formed during $N_2O$ oxidation not only strengthen $N_2O$ oxide structure at the interface and improves the gate dielectric quality, it also acts as a oxidant diffusion barrier that reduces the oxidation rate significantly.