US Patent Application 18358609. Method of Forming a Semiconductor Device by Driving Hydrogen into a Dielectric Layer from Another Dielectric Layer simplified abstract

Method of Forming a Semiconductor Device by Driving Hydrogen into a Dielectric Layer from Another Dielectric Layer

Organization Name

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.

Inventor(s)

Hongfa Luan of Baoshan (TW)

Yi-Fan Chen of New Taipei City (TW)

Chun-Yen Peng of Hsinchu (TW)

Cheng-Po Chau of Tainan City (TW)

Wen-Yu Ku of Hsinchu (TW)

Huicheng Chang of Tainan City (TW)

Method of Forming a Semiconductor Device by Driving Hydrogen into a Dielectric Layer from Another Dielectric Layer - A simplified explanation of the abstract

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 18358609 titled 'Method of Forming a Semiconductor Device by Driving Hydrogen into a Dielectric Layer from Another Dielectric Layer

Simplified Explanation

The patent application describes a thermal treatment process that can be used after a high-pressure anneal process in a field effect transistor.

• The thermal treatment process helps to keep hydrogen at the interface between a channel region and a gate dielectric layer.
• It also removes hydrogen from the bulk portion of the gate dielectric layer.
• This process can reduce the amount of threshold voltage shift caused by a high-pressure anneal.
• The high-pressure anneal and thermal treatment process can be performed at any time after the gate dielectric layer is formed.
• This process does not disrupt the existing process flow.

Original Abstract Submitted

Embodiment described herein provide a thermal treatment process following a high-pressure anneal process to keep hydrogen at an interface between a channel region and a gate dielectric layer in a field effect transistor while removing hydrogen from the bulk portion of the gate dielectric layer. The thermal treatment process can reduce the amount of threshold voltage shift caused by a high-pressure anneal. The high-pressure anneal and the thermal treatment process may be performed any time after formation of the gate dielectric layer, thus, causing no disruption to the existing process flow.