Experimental evidence of trap level modulation in silicon nitride thin films by hydrogen annealing

Seki, Harumi; Kamimuta, Yuuichi; Mitani, Yuichiro

doi:10.7567/jjap.57.06kb04

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…[41] Previous experimental evidence demonstrated that hydrogen annealing could be an effective approach for introducing H-passivation in the devices. [42] The properties of shallow-trap centers, such as VN, VO, Sii, Tii, and TiSi, with H passivation were calculated, and the results have been shown in Fig. 4(b).…”

Section: A Defects-induced Lateral Charge Lossmentioning

confidence: 99%

Charge Loss Induced by Defects of Transition Layer in Charge-Trap 3D NAND Flash Memory

Wang

et al. 2021

IEEE Access

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In charge-trap (CT) three-dimensional (3D) NAND flash memory, the transition layer between Si3N4 CT layer and SiO2 tunneling layer is inevitable, and the defects in the transition layer are expected to cause both lateral and vertical charge loss. Here, by first-principles calculations, we present a detailed study on the defects in the transition layer Si2N2O to comprehend their impacts on charge loss in CT 3D NAND flash memory. It is shown that shallow-trap centers, such as intrinsic nitrogen vacancy (VN) and interstitial Ti (Tii), can couple with the conduction band of Si2N2O to lead to lateral charge loss. On the other hand, the N substituting Si atom (NSi) and Ti substituting Si atom (TiSi) defects in the transition layer can couple through resonance with the trap centers in Si3N4, leading to vertical charge loss from the CT layer to the transition layer. Our results strongly suggest that appropriate treatment of the transition layer and hydrogen passivation are both important for avoiding charge loss in CT 3D NAND flash memory.

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Section: A Defects-induced Lateral Charge Lossmentioning

confidence: 99%

Charge Loss Induced by Defects of Transition Layer in Charge-Trap 3D NAND Flash Memory

Wang

et al. 2021

IEEE Access

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“…The performances of these devices strongly depend on the SiN x film qualities that are controlled by the deposition and annealing conditions. For instance, the trap density strongly depends on the chemical composition of the SiN x film 3 and the chemical properties and impurity (e.g., N–H and Si–H) densities of SiN x are affected by annealing 4 . Although single‐layer SiN x has been widely studied over the past decades, previous work on the effects of annealing on the properties of SiN x films within multi‐layer stacked structures is insufficient.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of post‐deposition annealing on chemical composition of SiN_x film in SiO₂/SiN_x/SiO₂/Si stacked structure

Sakata

Ogawa

Inoue

et al. 2022

Surface & Interface Analysis

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To systematically evaluate the quality of SiNx films in multi‐stacked structures, we investigated the effects of post‐deposition annealing (PDA) on the film properties of SiNx within the SiO2/SiNx/SiO2/Si stacked structure by performing X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X‐ray reflectivity (XRR), Fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR) spectroscopy, and scanning transmission electron microscope–electron energy loss spectroscopy (STEM‐EELS) analyses. The XPS results showed that PDA induces the oxidation of the SiNx layer. In particular, new finding is that Si‐rich SiNx in the SiNx layer is preferentially oxidized by PDA even in multi‐stacked structure. The XRR results showed that the SiNx layer becomes thinner, whereas the interface layer between the SiNx layer and Si becomes thicker. It is concluded by STEM‐EELS and XPS that this interface layer is SiON layer. The density of N–H and Si–H bonding within the stacked structure strongly depends on the PDA temperature. Our study helps elucidate the properties of SiNx films in stacked structures from various perspectives.

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“…[29][30][31] Based on the same concept of the array test circuit for current measurement and the platform for resistance measurement, we developed a current measurement platform that can form DUTs for each unit cell by forming dielectric films on the platform by an additional process with simple steps and measure leakage current of a large number of samples. Discharge current transient spectroscopy (DCTS) [32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39] has been proposed as one of the electrical evaluation methods for the trap property. It has been reported to be a useful method that can easily evaluate energy levels and densities of traps in a dielectric film by measuring the discharge current of capacitors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A high-precision current measurement platform applied for statistical measurement of discharge current transient spectroscopy of traps in SiN dielectrics

Saito

Suzuki

Park

et al. 2021

Jpn. J. Appl. Phys.

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This paper presents a current measurement platform to measure current across dielectrics with a high-precision of 10−17 A from a large number of small capacitors at high speed. The developed platform consists of a common readout circuit part and a dielectric part formed on the circuit part by a simple process. A platform chip with 10 μm pitch 384H × 360V cells was fabricated using a 0.18 μm CMOS technology and silicon nitride (SiN) films were formed by plasma-enhanced CVD (PECVD) as a measurement target. The trap property of SiN films in metal–insulator–metal (MIM) capacitors was statistically measured by discharge current transient spectroscopy (DCTS) using the developed platform. The measured average energy levels of traps (E c –E t ) were 0.21–0.25 eV, which is in good agreement with that of the discrete samples. The distributions of energy levels and densities of traps measured with different film thicknesses and areas are also presented and discussed.

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Experimental evidence of trap level modulation in silicon nitride thin films by hydrogen annealing

Cited by 8 publications

References 32 publications

Charge Loss Induced by Defects of Transition Layer in Charge-Trap 3D NAND Flash Memory

Charge Loss Induced by Defects of Transition Layer in Charge-Trap 3D NAND Flash Memory

Effects of post‐deposition annealing on chemical composition of SiN_x film in SiO₂/SiN_x/SiO₂/Si stacked structure

A high-precision current measurement platform applied for statistical measurement of discharge current transient spectroscopy of traps in SiN dielectrics

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Experimental evidence of trap level modulation in silicon nitride thin films by hydrogen annealing

Cited by 8 publications

References 32 publications

Charge Loss Induced by Defects of Transition Layer in Charge-Trap 3D NAND Flash Memory

Charge Loss Induced by Defects of Transition Layer in Charge-Trap 3D NAND Flash Memory

Effects of post‐deposition annealing on chemical composition of SiNx film in SiO2/SiNx/SiO2/Si stacked structure

A high-precision current measurement platform applied for statistical measurement of discharge current transient spectroscopy of traps in SiN dielectrics

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Effects of post‐deposition annealing on chemical composition of SiN_x film in SiO₂/SiN_x/SiO₂/Si stacked structure