The Radiation Effects on Structural Defects and Reliability of High-k MOS Gate Dielectrics

Abstract

The effects of γ – irradiation on the physical and electrical properties of ZrO2 and HfO2 based high-k MOS structures were studied. The doses of γ –irradiation applied have been up to 80 Gray. The C-Vcharacteristics seeing as the flat-band shift when exposed to γ – irradiation showed high reliability of the structures. Raman scattering spectra of the ZrO2 thin films grown by RF magnetron sputtering on silicon substrate have been investigated. The impact of γ –irradiation doses on the ZrO2 thin films Raman spectra was analyzed. The intensity of the Raman signal originating from monoclinic ZrO2 is found to decrease with increasing gamma radiation.