Effect of H-2 content on reliability of ultrathin in-situ steam generated (ISSG) SiO2

This letter demonstrates the effect of H-2 percentage during oxidation on t he quality of the in-situ steam generated (ISSG) oxide. Our results indicat e the reliability of ISSG oxide is considerably improved as the H-2 percent age increases, from the viewpoint of stress-induced leakage current (SILC) and charge-to-breakdown (Q(BD)) Such enhanced reliability of the ISSG oxide may be explained by the reduction of defects in the SiO2 network within th e structural transition layer, such as Si dangling bonds, weak Si-Si and st rained Si-O bonds, by highly reactive oxygen atoms which are hypothesized t o be dissociated from the molecular oxygen due to the presence of hydrogen.