Mechanism for generation of the phonon-energy-coupling enhancement effect for ultrathin oxides on silicon

Large leakage-current reduction of SiO2 due to the phonon-energy-coupling enhancement effect was confirmed by measuring the oxide thickness using a cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. There is a critical temperature Tc. Rapid thermal processing RTP of SiO2 at T Tc in pure N2 leads to a destructive structure with large leakage current, while RTP at T Tc in pure N2 does not change the oxide structure. After introducing a little amount of oxygen during RTP, the destructive structure can be converted to a constructive one by repairing the defects created during RTP at T Tc. This leads to reduced leakage current. © 2007 American Institute of Physics. DOI: 10.1063/1.2820383