Analytic Model of Threshold Voltage Variation Induced by Plasma Charging Damage in High-k Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor

We discuss plasma charging damage (PCD) to high-k gate dielectrics and the resultant threshold voltage shift (ΔVth) in n-channel metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors (n-ch MOSFETs). The PCD induced by the antenna effect is focused on, and ΔVth and its variation are estimated for MOSFETs treated by various plasma processes. We propose a ΔVth variation model based on both the power-law dependence of ΔVth on the antenna ratio r (= exposed metal interconnect area/gate area) and the r distribution deduced from an interconnect-length distribution function (ILDF) in a large-scale integrated (LSI) circuit. Then, we simulate the variations in ΔVth [σ(ΔVth)] and the subthreshold leakage current Ioff [σ(Ioff)], in accordance with the employed r distribution. The model prediction quantitatively shows the effects of PCD on σ(ΔVth) and σ(Ioff): The antenna effect is found to increase σ(ΔVth) and σ(Ioff).

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