Ion implantation was used to incorporate deuterium at the Si-SiO2 interface
. Polycrystalline silicon gate metal-oxide-semiconductor diodes with 4 nm o
xide grown on deuterium-implanted p-type < 100 > silicon substrate were inv
estigated. It was observed that deuterium implantation at a light dose of 1
x10(14)/cm(2) at 25 keV reduced oxide leakage current due to reduction in o
xide charge and interface traps. Low-energy implant indicates possible deut
erium loss during oxidation whereas in case of higher energy implant, the o
bserved degradation was caused by enhanced substrate damage. Interface stat
e density D-it as obtained from the conductance measurements suggests that
implanted deuterium passivates the interface traps. (C) 2000 American Insti
tute of Physics. [S0003-6951(00)04721-5].