Reliability engineering enabling continued logic for memory device scaling

Continued scaling of DRAM technologies has required a limitation of the power dissipation from the logic components on-chip, while downscaling both transistor oxide thickness and gate length. One route to enable further scaling, while circumventing excessive leakage currents, is the integration of high-kappa metal-gate (HKMG) components into the logic and high-voltage (e.g. I/O) devices. The requirement of a gate-first flow for devices in the peripheral region introduces significant reliability challenges. Even though Negative Bias Temperature Instability (NBTI) performance of CMOS and memory thermal budget compatible transistors are aligned with conventional HKMG integration with thin oxide devices, it is not the case for thick oxide devices. In particular, it will be shown that strong NBTI lifetime degradation is observed as soon as high-kappa layers are deposited on top of the thick interfacial layer. In this work, a review of the impact of these high-kappa layers on the Negative Bias Temperature Instability (NBTI) of high voltage logic for memory devices is presented. The stress induced degradation is correlated to a diffusion of metal atoms from the HKMG gate stack towards the silicon surface. Directions for reliability improvements are then defined. The presence of Nitrogen throughout the HKMG stack can originate either from high-kappa processing or metal-nitride gate electrode. It is shown that preventing nitrogen diffusion towards the Si/SiO2 interface region, together with AlOx, and/or F incorporation at the HKMG interface, can tune device threshold voltage and modulate access to donor trap-defect bands. The result of these effects is a vast improvement in NBTI performance. A detailed study of NBTI-degradation, supported by physical analysis, assessing the impact of various tuning components within the stack (interface layer, high-kappa fluorination and/or cap, metal gate) will be presented. Potential solutions for this reliability challenge will be reported.