I/O thick oxide device integration using Diffusion and Gate Replacement (D&GR) gate stack integration

In this work, the potential of the recently demonstrated D&GR (Diffusion & Gate Replacement, [5]) for thick oxide I/O devices integration is investigated. A D&GR integration flow compliant with EOT requirements for I/O devices is demonstrated, with no penalty with regard to HKMG Non D&GR flow in terms of short channel effects and intrinsic transistor performance. Threshold voltage tuning options from 150 up to 300 mV are demonstrated, and one preferred integration route (keeping the same work function shifters for both thin and thick oxide devices) is highlighted. Finally, it is also shown that HKMG I/O devices (D&GR and non D&GR) do not suffer from reverse narrow gate width effects.