Improved thermal stability and device performance of ultra-thin (EOT<10 /spl Aring/) gate dielectric MOSFETs by using hafnium oxynitride (HfO/sub x/N/sub y/)

Hafnium oxynitride (HfO/sub x/N/sub y/) film was prepared and characterized for gate dielectrics application with EOT<10 /spl Aring/ for the first time. Thermal stability and crystallization during the subsequent thermal process were improved significantly by using HfO/sub x/N/sub y/ over HfO/sub 2/. Furthermore, excellent transistor characteristics were obtained for both p and nMOSFETs.