LOW-TEMPERATURE PLASMA-ASSISTED OXIDATION OF SI - A NEW APPROACH FOR CREATION OF DEVICE-QUALITY SI-SIO2 INTERFACES WITH DEPOSITED DIELECTRICS FOR APPLICATIONS IN SI MOSFET TECHNOLOGIES

Stacked-gates incorporating thin Si-SiO2 heterostructures by combinati ons of plasma-assisted and rapid thermal processing were fabricated. A pre-deposition low- temperature, 300 degrees C, plasma-assisted oxida tion step which (i) removes residual C-atom contamination and (ii) gen erates similar to 0.5-0.6 nm of oxide which serves as a platform for t he SiO2 deposition, also produces an Si-SiO2 interface with electrical properties equivalent to interfaces formed by conventional furnace th ermal oxidation of Si. This pre-deposition oxidation step has been int egrated into a process for fabricating MOS devices, which has also be extended to include oxynitride and oxide-nitride-oxide (ONO) dielectri cs.