The characteristics of hole trapping in HfO2∕SiO2 gate dielectrics with TiN gate electrode

The characteristics of charge trapping during constant voltage stress in an n-type metal–oxide–semiconductor capacitor with HfO2∕SiO2 gate stack and TiN gate electrode were studied. We found that the dominant charge trapping mechanism in the high-k gate stack is hole trapping rather than electron trapping. This behavior can be well described by the distributed capture cross-section model. In particular, the flatband voltage shift (ΔVfb) is mainly caused by the trap filling instead of the trap creation [Zafar et al., J. Appl. Phys. 93, 9298 (2003)]. The dominant hole trapping can be ascribed to a higher probability for hole tunneling from the substrate, compared to electron tunneling from the gate, due to a shorter tunneling path over the barrier for holes due to the work function of the TiN gate electrode.