A low-frequency noise model for advanced gate-stack MOSFETs

作者：Celik Butler Zeynep^*; Devireddy Siva Prasad; Tseng Hsing Huang; Tobin Philip; Zlotnicka Ania

来源：Microelectronics Reliability, 2009, 49(2): 103-112.

DOI：10.1016/j.microrel.2008.12.005

A new unified noise model is presented that accurately predicts the low-frequency noise spectrum exhibited by MOSFETs with high dielectric constant (high-k), multi-stack gate dielectrics. The proposed multistack unified noise (MSUN) model is based on number and correlated mobility fluctuations theory developed for native oxide MOSFETs, and offers scalability, with respect to the high-k/interfacial layer thicknesses. In addition, it incorporates the various electronic properties of high-k/interfacial layer materials such as energy barrier heights between different gate layers, and dielectric trap density with respect to band energy and position in the dielectric. For verification of the new model, the low-frequency noise, DC and conventional split C-V measurements were performed in the 78-350 K temperature range on TaSiN/HfO(2) n-channel MOSFETs. The interfacial layer in these devices was either thermal SiO(2) by Stress Relieved Pre-Oxide (SRPO) pretreatment or chemical SiO(2) resulting from standard RCA (Radio Corporation of America) clean process. Using the experimental noise data, the channel carrier number fluctuations mechanism was at first established to be the underlying mechanism responsible for the noise observed at all temperatures considered. Secondly, the normalized noise exhibited a weak dependence on temperature implying that the soft optical phonons, although known to result in mobility degradation, have no effect on the noise characteristics in these high-k gate stack MOSFETs. Finally, the new model was shown to be in excellent agreement with the measured noise in 1-100 Hz frequency range at temperatures of 78-350 K for both gate stacks.

• 出版日期2009-2