Low-temperature gate dielectrics formed by plasma anodisation of silicon nitride

Silicon nitrides, deposited on silicon by PECVD using an SiH4/NH3 plasma at 300°C, were anodised in an oxygen plasma at 500°C. The resulting dielectric appears to have lower fixed charge, leakage current and interface trap density than the original PECVD nitride, and to have the potential of use as a gate dielectric for MIS devices in VLSI circuits.