STACKING-FAULTS UNDER REOXIDIZED NITRIDED OXIDES

Processing induced stacking faults below reoxidized nitrided oxides have been observed by electron beam induced current (EBIC) imaging and by secondary electron imaging after preferential etching. Comparative studies of stacking fault lengths with those of dry and nitrided oxides show that the growth rates of stacking faults are anomalously high during reoxidation. A large proportion of these stacking faults show electrical activity in EBIC images. This is reflected in the degradation of effective generation lifetimes as seen in transient capacitance measurements.