Comparison between CVD and thermal oxide dielectric integrity

Low-pressure chemical vapor deposited (CVD) oxide and thermal oxide of identical thickness (360 A) are compared. CVD oxide exhibits much lower incidence of breakdown at the electric fields below 8 MV/cm, in agreement with the notion that the breakdown is largely due to the incorporation of impurities in the silicon substrate into the oxide during thermal oxidation. Furthermore, CVD oxide shows identical IV characteristics as thermal oxide and significantly lower rates of electron and hole trapping. Based on these results, CVD oxide may be an intriguing candidate for thin dielectric applications.