Slater Matsil, LLP
Thermal treatment for gate dielectrics
Embodiments described in this disclosure relate to formation of a gate structure of a device, such as in a replacement gate process, and the device formed thereby. In some examples, after an interfacial layer and a gate dielectric layer are deposited, a rapid anneal process, such as laser anneal or flash lamp anneal process, is performed in a controlled ambient nitrogen-containing environment to form a nitrided portion in the gate dielectric layer. The nitrided portion passivates the defects at the surface of the gate dielectric layer and can serve as a barrier to prevent etchant chemistry and defects/dopants from the subsequent gate stack layers from affecting or diffusing through the gate dielectric layer. Particularly, the rapid anneal process is performed on a millisecond scale to confine nitrogen atoms in the gate dielectric layer without diffusing into the underlying interfacial dielectric and/or any neighboring structure such as fin.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
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Cheng-Po Xiong-Fei Terry Huicheng Hung-Yao Che-Hao Yi-Yun
Chau Yu Huang Chang Chen Chang Li