Off-state gate current with quasi-zero temperature coefficient in n-MOSFETs with reoxidized nitrided oxide as gate dielectric

Temperature stability of off-state gate current (Ig) for n-MOSFET's with reoxidized nitrided oxide (RNO) as gate dielectrics prepared by rapid thermal processing is investigated. A significant phenomeon that Ig remains almost unchanged at elevated temperature is observed. This could be attributed to the fact that reoxidation recovers part of the nitridation-induced lowering of barrier height for hole emission at the RNO/Si interface, resulting in the increases of the hot-hole injection which nearly compensate the decrease of hole generation at elevated temperature in the avalanche regime. The finding reveals a useful behavior with temperature-insensitive off-state gate current for RNO devices requiring a thermally stable operation.