Millisecond flash annealing as a flatband voltage shift enabler for p-type metal-oxide-semiconductor devices with high-k/metal gate

We have investigated the effects of millisecond flash annealing (ms-FLA) on the electrical properties of p-type metal-oxide-semiconductor (pMOS) devices with high-k gate dielectrics with TiN gate. Compared to conventional rapid thermal annealing (RTA), ms-FLA improves pMOS characteristics such as positive flatband voltage (VFB) shift along with scaled equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) and negligible gate leakage degradation, attributed to the suppressed oxygen vacancies Vo2+ generation in high-k gate dielectrics due to a shorter thermal budget. Al-containing capping layers, TiN thickness, and Si cap deposition temperatures with ms-FLA substantially affect thermally generated Vo2+, leading to different V FB and EOT. © 2011 The Electrochemical Society.