SUPERTHIN O N/O STACKED DIELECTRICS FORMED BY OXIDIZING THIN NITRIDESIN LOW-PRESSURE OXYGEN FOR HIGH-DENSITY MEMORY DEVICES/

High-performance superthin oxide/nitride/oxide (O/N/O) stacked dielect rics have been successfully achieved by oxidizing thin nitride films i n low-pressure dry-oxygen at 850-degrees-C for 30 min. Since the nitri des exhibit a better oxidation resistance to the low-pressure dry-oxyg en than to the atmospheric-pressure dry-oxygen and wet-oxygen, the low pressure oxidation obtains a thinner oxidized nitride for the high-de nsity dynamic-random-access-memories (DRAM's) and metal-oxide-nitride- oxide-semiconductor (MONO'S) memory devices. In addition, this dielect ric possesses low leakage current and excellent time-dependent-dielect ric-breakdown (TDDB) characteristics. Therefore, this novel recipe is promising for future ULSI technology.