Degradation of rapid thermal oxides due to the presence of nitrogen in the oxidation ambient

Ultrathin rapid thermal oxides have been formed in oxygen with varying levels of nitrogen incorporated into the oxidation ambient. Metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors were subsequently fabricated and tested. It was observed that the interface trap density and the frequency of low field breakdowns increased with increasing nitrogen concentration in the oxidation ambient. No improvement in the interface state generation rate due to nitrogen incorporation in the oxidation ambient was observed in this study.