We utilize a very sensitive electron spin resonance technique called spin-dependent tunneling to identify defect centers involved in the negative bias temperature instability in plasma-nitrided p-channel metal-oxide-silicon field-effect transistors. The defect's ²⁹Si hyperfine... (Read more)

The authors combine metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) gated diode measurements and very sensitive electrically detected electron spin resonance measurements to detect and identify negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) generated defect centers in fully processed HfO₂ pMOS field effect... (Read more)

Using density functional theory, the interaction of hydrogen with a nitrogen vacancy in -Si₃N₄ is investigated. A single H atom was found to be energetically favorable over non- and doubly protonated vacancies. The traps composed of excess silicon and hydrogen have negative... (Read more)

We have characterized the leakage current paths of ultra-thin gate dielectrics using spin-dependent tunneling (SDT) spectroscopy. A spin-dependent current was detected in metal-oxide-semiconductor diodes with chemical-vapor-deposition SiN gate films with thickness less than 3 nm. We examined the nature of the trap sites in terms of g-value, bias-dependent signal intensity, and magnetic-field orientation dependence. The main feature of the observed spectrum is attributed to a paramagnetic Si site in the SiN films. By using a quantitative model of electron spin-polarization, we were able to estimate the ratio of trap-assisted current to the total leakage current. (Read more)

We show that Cat-CVD silicon nitride films contain more than 1019 cm−3 nitrogen-bonded Si dangling bonds, similarly to the case for conventional CVD films. However, the charge-trapping behavior of the Cat-CVD films is found to be quite different, in spite of the same origin for the dominant... (Read more)

Photoluminescence (PL) properties of SiNx (0.51<x<1.3) films are studied. A visible luminescence near the UV region is observed and the PL intensity and peak positions are found to be governed by the excess silicon composition. A large scale potential fluctuation due to the spatial... (Read more)

The properties of silicon nitride (SiN_x) films produced by the catalytic chemical vapor deposition (cat-CVD) method are extensively studied for device application. In the cat-CVD method, the deposition gases such as a silane (SiH₄) and ammonia (NH₃) gas... (Read more)

We report the observation of both silicon and nitrogen paramagnetic defect centers using X-band and Q-band electron spin resonance microwave excitation frequencies. By using two different microwave frequencies along with a computer analysis of the resonance lineshapes, we have been... (Read more)

We have investigated the effects of different post-deposition temperature anneals and N-H concentrations, on the generation of ultraviolet (UV)-induced two-coordinated nitrogen dangling bonds in plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposited (PECVD) silicon nitride films using electron spin resonance... (Read more)

We report the first observation of ¹⁴N nearest-neighbor hyperfine interactions with an unpaired electron on silicon dangling-bond centers, K centers, in silicon nitride generated by ultraviolet or gamma irradiation. We observe this interaction using electron-nuclear double-resonance... (Read more)

We report the first definitive identification of nitrogen dangling bonds in silicon nitride. A computer analysis of ¹⁴N hyperfine parameters shows that the unpaired electron is strongly localized on the central nitrogen atom and that the unpaired electron?s wave function is almost... (Read more)

A recent study by Krick and coworkers provided the first direct evidence associating a specific point-defect with trapping phenomena in silicon nitride films. Krick and coworkers demonstrated that silicon “dangling bond” centers in silicon nitride films are electrically neutral when... (Read more)