Reduction of Plasma Etching Induced Electrical Degradation in Metal-Oxide-Si Capacitors by Furnace Grown Oxides Rapid Thermal Annealed in N 2 O

Plasma etching induced electrical degradation in metal-oxide-silicon (MOS) capacitors is dramatically reduced by a gate oxide formed in O 2 using a furnace and followed by rapid thermal annealing in N 2 O. The plasma etching induced reduction of charge-to-breakdown value in MOS capacitors is minimized using this technique. The plasma etching induced flatband voltage shift is significantly reduced. The electrical improvement can be explained in terms of a mechanism based on the relaxation of SiO 2 /Si interfacial strain.