Deposited silicon nitride with low electron trapping rates

In this article, nitrogen-rich silicon nitride plasma deposited under conditions minimizing Si—H bonding is shown to possess extremely low bulk electron trapping rates which are as low or lower than plasma-deposited oxides produced using He dilution. The bulk trap density, measured by avalanche injection decreases as the rf power is decreased. The total charge trapped within these silicon nitrides reaches a saturation value determined by high field detrapping in thick nitride films.