A Simple Model of the Chemical Nature of Bonds at the Si—SiO₂ Interface and its Influence on the Electronic Properties of MOS Devices

Abstract

Thermal and chemical treatments of metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) devices have resulted in a substantial collection of experimental observations which are still unexplained by existing physical models of MOS devices. For example, the exact physical and chemical nature of oxide-fixed charges is still largely undetermined. It has long been observed that electronic properties of MOS devices such as oxide-fixed charge density, interface traps, and barrier heights are changed by thermal treatments in vacuum, thermal treatments in inert gases, thermal treatments in reactive gases, electrical stressing, and exposure to radiation or photons [1]. The simple and direct influence of annealing in a nitriding ambient on the electrical characteristics of MOS devices is still not fully understood on an atomic level.